Pokémon R: The Runaway Journeys
by Pokepika's Haunt
Summary: Pokemon Remake: The Runaway Journeys; Rated T for safety, more inside.
1. See Ya on the Flipside

A/N. Ok so, as I was looking at some of my old fanfics, I realized something about Runaway Journeys, and actually quite a lot of my stories… There's are some glaring plot holes I either missed entirely, didn't give enough thought towards or plain just didn't give two flying fucks as to the existence of (translation: I ignored them like the plague.) Also I don't remember the age I put Ash at in the original fic, just that she was young. So I'm actually uping (is that a word? It's is now.) the age she would've been, possibly, and pushing it a little higher than it was in the anime when canon!Ash started out.

And I'm truly, sincerely sorry about that. So this is me fixing this story and hopefully it making some sort of sense now. With far less potholes to hit on the ride now.

Enjoy!

Summary: At the insistence of her parents, Deliah sends her outgoing, rambunctious daughter to live with them in order to learn how to act like a "proper lady". The only problem is; thirteen year old Ashe has no plans on following through with these demands. Especially after she hears of her long time rival's success as a pokémon trainer.

Frustrated with the adults trying to run her life for her, she takes matters into her own two hands and runs away from home the night before she's to be packed off to her grandparents'. With only a stolen pokédex, three pokémon, and a backpack to her name, she sets out on what is sure to be the journey of a life time. Now if only she could get her well-meaning grandparents off her back.

**WARNING! FEM!ASH FANFIC AHEAD!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! I repeat, I make, nor have I ever made, ANY claim to Pokémon what-so-ever. Just the plot idea, which probably isn't nearly as original as I like to think it is.**

* * *

**EP 1: See Ya on the Flipside!**

* * *

"_Ashelyn Volcna Ketchum! You get down from that tree this instant! If your grandfather saw you-!"_

"_He'd have an early heart attack?"_

"_You watch your mouth young lady! Oh, why can't you be more like your cousin, Sarah. She's always so well-behaved!"_

"_My dear, well-behaved cousin Sarah screams bloody murder the instant a speck of dust comes within twenty feet of her."_

"_You see, _this _is what I'm talking about! Oh, it is such a good thing your grandparents called when they did!"_

"_How is that good?"_

"_Oh it's wonderful in fact! Mom and Dad called, they offered to take you in for the next two years, teach you how to behave for once in your life."_

"_What?"_

"_You heard me, and I said yes. You'll be leaving Monday next week, they'll come and pick you up then. You best say bye to your friends by then. Oh I'll miss you, but I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself so much over there…"_

* * *

She still couldn't believe it, practically a week later in her room, most of her own possessions stuffed into various bags and suitcases to tide her over for two years as her grandparents all but brainwashed her into behaving like some sort of doll. _'Like Sarah…'_ She realized rather bitterly, expression screwed into a rather vicious grimace as the TV continued to flash through the various mind numbing shows and dull as dirt channels that typically plagued their cable on a Sunday night. Sarah was her cousin, to some degree on her dear mother's side of the family; the youngest daughter of Deliah's eldest brother's son, or something long and convoluted like that. Either way, it didn't much matter, and Ashe herself had never been one to nitpick when it came to familial ties. But _still._

She'd never had a problem with Sarah personally, maybe a little annoyed at times, yes. But the girl was perfectly reasonable to deal with, for short periods of time and nowhere near the outdoors. Too much dirt, and mud, and grass, and generally everything that could ruin a nice outfit if one wasn't careful when walking, or standing. But really, the girl couldn't possibly function in normal society, and her mother wanted her to be _behave_ like that?

Ashe would've really liked to think this was all just some scarily realistic dream about her life, but unfortunately she was very much awake, and the evidence of this new turn of events was sitting right there on the desk; a simple, if tad too extravagant letter in sprawling script she'd needed her mother to translate, because Mew forbid her well-meaning grandparents write in anything but cursive. A skill she'd never needed growing up, and probably never would considering that to this day, the only people who still wrote in that fashion was resident star of the town's equally well-known grandfather, Professor Samuel Oak, her own mother, and the rest of the elderly, batty people in town that had a bad habit of telling you the same story at least three times if you ever hung around long enough to listen.

The contents almost made her feel bad for feeling so downright spiteful right now, but Arceus if it wasn't a little unfair. They wanted her to live with them, for at least two years, maybe more if she felt like it by the end. Nothing much to ask of her really, if it weren't for the fact that they thought it was high-time she learned how to act and behave like a proper "lady of the house". No more tree climbing, no more playing in the mud, no more breaking the local boys' noses when they got a little too snarky for her tastes. Not that her mother had been doing a poor job of raising her so far, but they thought she needed a slightly stricter hand to guide her into the proper life-style.

It'd all been pre-arranged, right behind her back as she hung around town, by her mother and grandparents who only wanted the best for their little angel. The best being the life of a housewife, cooking breakfast, fixing lunch, and preparing dinner for her husband, who would probably have some boring desk job that left him out of the house eight whole hours of the day, while she sat back and twiddled her thumbs. Raising kids was probably somewhere in that equation as well, except that at the age of thirteen, the very last thing on her mind was a future with a family, and they were already planning her wedding day.

It frustrated her, to no end, that they hadn't ever bothered to ask her her own opinion on the matter. Just assumed she'd go along with all of it, all hunky-dory, like she'd actually be okay with having other people choose how she should live. It wasn't fair, and she knew it, and her mother knew it, and Arceus damn it ALL if her grandparents didn't realize this somewhere amidst their scheming.

It wouldn't do her any good to stew though. Her week was up, and tomorrow her mother was essentially sending her off to be brainwashed, happily and with the world's most oblivious smile on her face as she waved merrily to her daughter from the front porch steps as they drove off to what could possibly be considered her legitimate doom.

And maybe she was, admittedly over exaggerating all of this a little bit.

That didn't change anything in her book though, and it probably never would.

"_Ladies and gentlemen this is truly amazing! Gary Oak of Pallet Town has done it! He's defeated Remora's golem and is moving on to the finals!" _Wait, Gary?

In truth, she hadn't seen the boy, just short a month of being half a year older than her, since he'd left town for his pokémon journey. That'd been three years ago, the same day she would've gone as well, had her grandparents not convinced her mother that it was a terrible idea, and thus resulted in her being forbade from ever leaving town. She'd remembered, quite clearly in fact, the resentment she'd felt towards all three, as she watched the other kids get their starter pokémon and leave with the blessings of their supportive parents, while hers kept her prisoner in her house. They got to choose the paths that they followed, go through with their dreams and become big, important people. They got to go adventuring, and see the sights all of Kanto had to offer, even if most of them wound up coming home with tears of frustration beading at the corners of their eyes and defeat weighing heavy on their shoulders.

They'd complained of life not being fair either, but at least they'd all been given the chance to at least try.

Ashe hadn't even gotten that much.

And now here was Gary, big and famous as the guy who'd almost beaten the Kanto League, and was now mowing through the competition in some foreign region's championships like they were nothing more than dirt beneath his shoes. Where was Ashe? Still stuck in small town Pallet with a pair of old fashioned wardens for grandparents and a mother who wouldn't take her daughter's side in a fight if her life depended on it.

It really wasn't fair… But maybe she could make it so.

It was a stupid idea, Arceus, she couldn't have had a worse idea if she'd tried. But with time ticking away by the second, it was probably the only chance she had now. If she could just get out of town…"Yeah…"

She quickly darted up from her position in front of the lone TV in her room, creeping as quickly and quietly as possible to her bedroom door, before slowly pulling it open. The hallway was pitch black and silent, the faint, distant sounds of her mother's snoring echoing from her bedroom across the rather small, empty space that separated them. _'Dead asleep, good…'_ she thought as she carefully shut the door. She spared a thought to turning off the TV, the noise bound to wake her mother up at some point, if the lights didn't, but realized that that would probably be what gave her enough time if she was careful.

She slid the door to her closet open, digging through layers and piles of old belongings she hadn't touched or even look at in years, before finally pulling out a small backpack.

"Aha!" She said, a shit-eating grin on her face as she pulled it open. The backpack had been a present from her no-show father, two years back when she would've gone on her journey had her mother not forbade her from doing so. It was a durable thing, made of some special kind of denim that could take a tauros' Tackle attack head on and still come out whole, hole-free, and usable, though the same probably couldn't be said for whatever would've been inside. There was a small button or pin, whatever one called such decorations, that she'd won at a fair when she was a little over five, if she remembered correctly. An old dusty thing made of some cheap alloy that had a pikachu's face painted on to its surface. Cute, her mother had called it when her daughter had shown it to her with all the pride a then six year old could hold. Her mother had turned around before the woman could properly see her reaction to that response, but Ashe had grimaced.

It wasn't supposed to be cute, it was supposed to be cool.

Roughly six years later, the memory wasn't very important, and neither were any of the feelings it brought. She had better things to do, anyways, more productive things. Like stuffing enough spare clothes into that backpack to last her _at least_ a week, along with something to sleep in and enough rations to last her at least a month, maybe longer.

Rations were going to be the tricky part. That would require her to go downstairs and raid the kitchen for anything nonperishable and easy to cook. Going downstairs meant sneaking past her mother's bedroom, sneaking past her mother's bedroom meant a higher chance of getting caught and locked in her room until her grandparents showed up to drag her off to what could essentially be called prison.

But if she was going to last any amount of time in the wild, it was necessary. _'Arceus be with me!'_ She pleaded as she eyed the backpack with a growing sense of desperateness. She was still in her nightgown, a horrendous pink thing she was probably going to take with her, simply so she could burn it the first chance she got, so that would help provide some cover for her should she need to come up with a lie of some sort. Far better and more believable than if she'd been dressed to say, leave the house.

Eyes closed, she took a deep breathe, long locks of messy black hair falling over her face before she looked back up, eyes narrowed in a growing sense of determination, before she flicked her bedroom lights off and opened the door.

Almost immediately on the first step, there was a creaking sound that nearly made her blood freeze solidly in her veins, and a brief moment of panic before everything went quiet again. She sighed in relief, slowly creeping her way down the hall.

"Ashe?" She was almost passed the bathroom when she heard the voice, the distinct tones unmistakable with anything but her mother, and even in the darkness of the upstairs hallway, she knew the woman had seen her flinch. "Ashelyn Volcna Ketchum, what are you doing up so late? You know you have a big day tomorrow, you're leaving with your grandparents. You'll need all the rest you can get." Her tone was scolding as she eyed her own daughter suspiciously from her place in the doorway of her own bedroom, normally pretty expression twisted into a disapproving frown.

It was only pure happenstance that Ashe's hand was resting on the bathroom doorknob, but it was the only thing she needed to see in the split second it took her to face her mother.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, tone surprisingly sincere even to her own amazement. _Sorry that I'm lying to you, that I'm probably about to break your heart, and you don't even know it yet._

"Sorry for what?"

"I had to…" _'Correction have to, have to leave this house that is.'_ "Go to the bathroom, I didn't mean to wake you up honest. I promise I'll go back to bed straight after I'm done."

There was a brief pause as her mother continued to look her up and down, before shoulders dropped and she smiled, lovingly and caring, like she was so proud of Ashe. Everything she didn't need to be seeing. And yet there it was, like a slap in the face.

"Oh Ashe, I'm so proud of how you're handling all of this! I know it's sudden but… Well, I just know you'll enjoy living at Mom and Dad's, just you wait. You'll see, I was right." She cooed as she walked over, pulling Ashe into a hug. Ashe twisted into a grimace, but she quickly pulled on a smile as they separated, leaning into her mother's touch as she pushed a stray lock of hair out of her face before slowly drifting back to bed. "All right, just don't too long, remember-"

"I have a big day tomorrow…" Ashe finished as she waved at her mother, watching her form disappear back into the bedroom, her cheerful expression suddenly dropping into a deep frown. "I'm sorry Mom, but I'm not going anywhere I don't want to." She whispered into the dark, before abruptly opening the bathroom door, only long enough to switch on the light. She closed it, then stormed her way downstairs, constantly looking behind herself, until she hit the bottom, socked feet sliding on wood floors as she approached the kitchen. She didn't bother turning on the lights, and instead made a beeline for the cupboards and fridge, barely missing a rather abrupt argument between her elbow and the coffee table.

She quickly pulled out her storage capsule, yet another present from her father meant to be of use whenever she set out on her journey. One that would've probably continued to go unused had she not had her own little epiphany earlier, but she had, and now it was proving useful as she flicked through the option buttons and began quickly assigning her supplies to the various menus.

The device was pretty advanced, slim and easy to slip in and out of a pocket if one ever needed one for quick access or just didn't like to carry around a purse or bag. Like one of those fancy pokégear-like devices the other, more tech-savvy regions had. It even had a touchscreen with creative little icons that could be used to label the menus to make navigating the device easier. She would've taken the time to play with it, had she the chance, but with what little she had, it would have to be put off for later.

"Ok… canteen of water, check… Food… check… ration bars... check! Lucky me, Mom never throws any of Dad's travel supplies out and even restocks them." She whispered to herself as she continued the cupboards for supplies. "Oh! Score! Travel-size first-aid kit, and… yes! Sorry Daddy, but your potions are mine!" She quickly stored everything into the capsule, shutting the device off and descending the room back into complete darkness after making sure all the cupboards were closed and the fridge was shut tight.

* * *

Scurrying back upstairs, she took a moment to scan the hallway, before rushing for the bathroom door. She opened it, reaching in to turn off the light, and then shut it again. Slipping past her mother's bedroom door and back into her own.

"Ok Ashe, you're still not in the clear and you know it. You've got your supplies, and some money, and Arceus if Mom doesn't kill me for robbing her purse like that." She grimaced at the brief thought, before dropping her storage capsule into one of the smaller pouches in her backpack and turning on the lamp sitting one her nightstand. As the light flickered, she paused, noticing the distinct red and white ball sitting innocuously on the wooden furniture as if it had been there the entire time. There was a letter tucked neatly underneath it, and she gently pulled it out, sparing only the briefest of glances towards her bedroom door before looking it over.

It was a simple thing, from what she could see, the average, most basic envelope that could be bought at the local pokémart for a grand 50 pokédollars a piece. Pocket change to most trainers, and probably a little more expensive to anyone else. Unimportant, if not for the name scrawled in what could only be the very definition of chatot-scratch writing, just that little bit short of being just about as legible to her as cursive was; DAD.

She huffed, a silent debate roaring to life inside of her, before she finally opened the thing to look inside. She pulled out a post card, with a picture of some foreign beach, in some foreign region she'd probably never heard of. _'Doesn't matter, cuz soon I'll be there too. Just you wait and see.' _She thought as she turned it over to see the same, if not more hurried scribbling that had wrote out her father's familial title on the back of the envelope. A lot of it, unintelligible as she could barely make out even what were probably two lettered words, but this was her father, and penmanship had never been one of his strong suits. Nor would it ever be, most likely one of the main reasons he'd never gotten a desk job like her mother's parents had wanted the man to.

It didn't matter, because she still managed to get the gist of it anyways. The pokéball was a present of some sort, her father's way of pacifying his possibly enraged daughter so she wasn't so difficult to handle when her grandparents showed up the next morning. A friend when all of hers were being left behind so she could be turned into the perfect trophy wife for some too-big-for-his-own-breeches business man with a stick shoved so far up his ass he couldn't bend over if he wanted to. Funnily enough, her father had used those exact words to describe her would-be husband at her grandparents' hands in the postcard.

And maybe it was that little thing that made her forgive the man for never being there for her physically, always off on some grand adventure to untold places as he was. Not completely, but it still made her feel a little better about what she was about to do, in the process of preparing to do.

"Thanks Dad, I guess…" She whispered quietly, right before she snatched up the containment device, all but rolling across the bed and just barely avoiding her backpack as she twirled back into her closet.

She dug around some more, the closet already a mess from the raid she'd pulled on it earlier when she was looking for the backpack, and began looking for a suitable outfit to wear. Luckily she still had all her shorts, t-shirts, pants, and capris. There were even a couple skirts of rather dull coloring if her mother's opinion was to be trusted, which she had stopped ignoring the day she turned seven and realized that her mother and her would forever be at odds with her choice of clothing. A pair of leggings was unearthed as she dug, one of several she'd forced her mother into buying, under the threat of the woman never seeing her daughter in skirt for the rest of her life. Mostly because she refused to where one without, because then she couldn't climb trees.

Stupid as it probably sounded, to a then eight year old little girl who was more tomboy than anything else, it was very important that she be able to climb trees without anything to get in her way. Stupid, frilly dresses and frou-frou skirts be damned.

Eventually, she pulled out what she deemed a suitable outfit. Nothing much or particularly fancy, but by the end of it all she'd realized that her father might've been more on her side than anyone truly realized. Her chosen outfit for the moment was a printed T-shirt, mostly black in color with the words "Pokémon Rulez" scrawled out in street graffiti style across the chest area in colorful, sleeves cut off at the elbow with a white tank top underneath. She didn't have any capris she felt like wearing, all of which, along with the rest of her clothes having been sealed into her storage capsule to make more room in her tiny backpack the instant she'd realized that it could still fit more stuff and still have room to spare. So instead she'd opted for a pair of warm grey leggings with a pair of blue denim shorts underneath and a pair of comfortable combat boots thrown on her feet that stopped just an inch short of her knee.

Giving herself a once over in the mirror, she decided that it would at the very least do for now. She felt nice and comfortable in it, and it wasn't very likely to restrict her movements. The shirt was surprisingly a size too big, and was loose enough that the sleeves hung off of both her shoulders slightly.

All of them, given to her by her father at some point or another within the last two or three years.

"Ok, we got our clothes; we got our backpack, our supplies in said backpack, and a pokémon…" She said as eyed the device now clasped tightly the leather belt that she had slipped through the belt loops of her shorts as a last minute thought. "If I'm going to do this, I need more than one pokémon… And to get more than one pokémon, I'm gonna need pokéballs…" She didn't have nearly enough money to get the pokéballs, even the regular ones being a little on the pricey side for any rookie just starting out on their journey.

According to the TV special that had been showing at most, two or three hours earlier, she knew that next batch of starry-eyed kids would be coming to get their starter pokémon tomorrow. And knowing the professor, he already had everything and ready for when they came that morning. "This is every conceivable level of stupid possible…" She whispered aloud, before walking around her bed to shut off the light.

She took one last long look at her room, wondering silently to herself if she was actually going through with this, and letting all the little doubts she'd been suppressing sink in, before her face screwed up in a show of determination and, after making sure she turned off the TV, opened up her window and climbed out onto the giant tree that stood proudly in their front yard.

Jumping down with a sureness that only came with experience and practice, she hit the ground with a heavy thud, and took off full sprint up the road and into the night, headed straight for Professor Oak's lab. If she got in and out without tripping any of the alarms that were sure to be in place, no one would ever know she was there.

* * *

"Shit, this is all kinds of wrong and stupid." She called out as she clambered through the window she knew wouldn't wake the old man up. It had security device, but the thing had been busted for years after Gary scared some poor electric type into deep frying the device. The boy's grandfather had found out, and while he had been mad he'd also never bothered to fix the thing for some obscure reason. She wasn't about to question it now though, because the good professor's laziness was currently helping her pull off a robbery that was sure to get her arrested if anyone ever found out.

Ashe quickly trotted her way past the numerous, cluttered shelves, and it was only the years of her childhood spent playing hide and seek with Gary that led to her not getting lost at all in the practical maze that was the professor's lab. Anyone else wouldn't have been found until morning, but that was the least of her worries as she finally found what she was looking for; the capsule podium that held the available starters trainers got to choose from at the beginning of their journeys.

"Sorry Oak, looks like you're coming up a little short this year…" She apologized as the opened the device, quickly grabbing one of the pokéballs and closing it, before snatching up a set of pokéballs, and one of the pokédex. She'd have to grab one from the back to replace the one she was taking, and maybe replace the soon-to-be missing pokémon as well, but that could all be fixed once she was done collecting what she needed.

No sense in depriving someone else of the opportunity like she'd been three years ago.

Done with the podium, she began roaming the shelves containing what Gary had once told her were the "Experimental Pokémon". Pokémon that weren't a part of the starter trio, but had the potential to one day join their popular ranks, provided they of course, proved that it was in fact a good idea, and not a tremendously stupid one. So far as she knew, there hadn't been any successes, but Oak held strong, because not everyone wanted a bulbasaur or charmander or squirtle, and it wasn't fair to deprive children of a journey just because they'd been nice enough to let everyone else go first.

As Ashe scanned the shelves she noticed a particular pokéball sparking violently, as if whatever was inside wanted out, and wanted it now. Every bone in her body told her ignore the device and move on, find one that had something less obviously hostile inside it, but her gut and her heart made her do otherwise. She grabbed the ball, and after a quick glance around, pressed the button and watched wide eyed as red, blinding light gave way to a small, mouse-like yellow creature with sparking red cheeks and a look its eyes that she found she greatly approved of.

"Cool." She found herself commenting as she watched the pokémon growl threateningly at her, before darting back as she all but physical dropped into a sitting position, setting the containment device off to the side in a show that she wasn't going to put it back inside anytime soon. At this, the creature tilted its head, eying the human warily before slowly beginning to creep towards her. Without the device, to its knowledge she was relatively harmless. "I don't know what you are, but you definitely got a spark to ya, huh?" She questioned aloud, voice still a whisper in case one of the aides or even the professor himself came down. She didn't need or want to get caught, and as quickly as she'd prefer to do this, patience was the virtue needed here.

"Pika…" The pokémon chittered warily, circling her a little before finally coming to a stop in front of her. It eyed her like she was the most curious thing the creature'd ever seen in its life, and Ashe imagined that she probably was.

"I like you," she stated, "Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm gonna start flinging pokéballs at you. I've never even had a pokémon battle before so I wouldn't know where to start with you. And I've only got two pokémon with me right now. Neither battle ready in the least. You'd probably wipe the floor with all of us." She paused, tilting her head in the same manner that this strange pokémon had. "I don't know what you are, except clearly being an electric-type, but you look like something my cousin Sarah would squeal at the sight of… What was it my mom called it? 'Cute', yeah that's the word. Well, right before you fried her that is. You look like the type who'd electrocute my cousin." The pokémon continued to look at her as she spoke, its overall appearance ringing bells of familiarity across her mind the longer she stared at it. "Yeah, you got that attitude about you, like you won't take bullshit from anyone."

"Pika!" The pokémon seemed to agree, crossing its arms and nodding its head as its cheeks sparked. It even tried to take a threatening posture, challenging her to deny her own claims. And it all brought a broad smile to her face.

"Pika… huh… That's it! Pikachu, that's what you are!" She cried out, squeaking slightly as she realized just how loud she'd been. Glancing around quickly, she breathed a sigh of relief when it looked like no one was coming to check on the noise she'd just made. She'd need to hurry though. Looking back at the pikachu she'd been conversing with, if a little one-sidedly, her expression turned serious. "Listen, I'm leaving this place, this whole town! If you wanna, you can come with me. Not even that far really. You can ditch me in the forest if you want to, or on the route to the next town. But we gotta' hurry, otherwise we'll get caught. So you in?" She asked, holding out her hand. The electric-type eyed her suspiciously for a few seconds, glancing back at her hand before looking her in the eye again.

Finally it agreed, nodding its head as it shook her hand, and watched with a growing interest as the human before it lit up like the night sky.

"Pikachu!"

"Awesome! Now quick, help me find a pokémon to take the place of the one I'm taking from here. You go that way, I'll go this way, and we'll meet up after I've gotten a replacement pokédex as well." She explained, darting into the maze of shelves with the pikachu going the opposite direction.

* * *

With a second hand it all went far easier than Ashe could've expected, and before the sun was even close to being up, Ashe was already at the edge of town, a pikachu on her shoulder and the night wind pulling at her hair. She looked back at her hometown of Pallet, and suddenly herself wondering how anyone could be so happy living in such a small and secluded place. And she saw and felt for the first time the reasons her father never stayed.

"Well Sparkler, this is it! Say goodbye Pallet Town, and hello Freedom!" She called out, the realization only just now hitting her that she'd never bothered to write a note to her mother. _'Just as well, I guess. It's my life now, not theirs. And I'm gonna live it how I want to.'_

"Pika!" She smiled at that, looking the electric-type in the eye, both wearing matching grins on their faces before they turn and ran off into the forest. The sun rising just at their backs as morning came.

"Let's go!

* * *

A/N. Well, so it's been a while since I last wrote a chapter this long. But it was certainly worth it. I think this turned out far better than the first one, certainly more interesting in my opinion, and I like this new Ash.

A lot of you might be wondering though, what the fuck did I do to Ash's family?

Well to be honest, I kind of have it in my head that Ash's grandparents on his father's side of the family are really old fashioned and traditional, but also very wealthy. Not like mansion with a bathtub you could have a whole swimming competition in, and still have room for that party going on in your backyard with a bazillion people. But you know, nice big, multi-floor house like on one of those crime tv shows, in some nice, respectable neighborhood. You know one of those people who believe that the kitchen is a woman's domain and that they shouldn't be playing in mud or climbing trees or playing sports, unless you count gossiping about the neighbors as one. They of course believe a woman should and has full right to be independent of her husband… They're very… fifty's in their way of thinking, I guess…

But her father's side of the family is more contemporary, and fully support Ash's rambunctious tendencies, and in fact encourages it a lot of the time.

P.s. how long does anyone think Ashe can go before Pikachu shocks her for calling it Sparkler?

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading! Please leave a review and tell me what you think! See ya!


	2. Of Plans and Realizations

A/N. So I hope you guys enjoy the chapter and thanks for the reviews!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

* * *

**EP 2: Of Plans and Realizations**

* * *

Ashe had made it as far as Viridian City before it dawned on her that the pikachu she had essentially stolen from the lab was still following her around. She couldn't for the life of her understand why, especially when it had had ample time and several very good opportunities to leave her hanging high and dry while she continued to sneak her way, rather unsteadily, through the woods that surrounded Route 1. That is until she remembered that she still had its pokéball fastened to her waist, and that for better or worse, the pokémon was stuck with her until she released it.

She felt increasingly stupid to be sure once the memory hit her, having grabbed the device in her rush out of the lab after an admittedly shaky attempt of covering her own tracks, but she'd been in such a rush to put as much distance between herself and Pallet Town that it had completely slipped her mind. So there she went on her own merry way, probably dragging a very reluctant pokémon along and none the wiser to her own little mistake and just as oblivious as her own mother could be at times.

And really just as fortunate that the good professor wouldn't figure out her thievery until a lot later hopefully, when he finally realized that he hadn't just made a grievous error in his late-night sleep-deprived state making all those important last adjustments.

She honestly hadn't a clue as to what pokémon she'd used to replace the starter she'd stolen from the labs, but it would hopefully be enough to throw the man for a loop as he tried to figure out how he could've possibly made such an error on such an important date as today. And if that bought her some extra time while her grandparents ran themselves silly trying to find their missing granddaughter, then so be it. She'd need all the time she could get before her face started popping up on the news and a missing child's report was filed with the Kanto police force, and by the time that came around, she had no plans on being anywhere near Kanto soil.

"Pika?" the pikachu asked, head tilted curiously as it watched her stare at the dirt road as if she fully expected it to start disgorging the secrets of the universe any second now.

"You know Sparkler, I just realized something…" She started, voice eerily calm as she shook herself free from her own thoughts and continued walking through the city. The shift was interesting to feel, as dirt and rocks gave way to smooth cobblestone roads and concrete, and the quiet noise of the forest suddenly changed into a cacophony of busy city noises. "If we really wanna runaway, we, or at the very least _I_, can't stay in Kanto." She continued, dodging the busy crowds that littered the sidewalks and slowly making her way to the local pokémon center. She'd only visited Viridian a handful of times, and while she'd never completely memorized the layout of the city as a whole, she knew where the pokémon center was at the very least.

"I'm gonna need to find a port, or maybe an airplane, get to another region…" She paused as she whispered all of this to herself, dodging into an nearby alley way when one of the local police drove by on a sleek motorcycle, a growlithe sitting proud and astute in its little passenger buggy. "If I stay in Kanto, I'll get caught, ya see?" She asked, turning to see the pikachu staring at her. It still bewildered her that it hadn't said anything yet about her not releasing it back into the wild, and she wondered if maybe it was sticking around just to see how far she would get in this little endeavor of hers. "What do you think?" She asked then, glancing out of the alley to check for any more police before sliding herself back into the crowd and continuing her trek to the center.

"Pika, pikachu pika pikapi." It replied, and the thirteen year old looked the pokémon in the eye before bursting into a fit of unexpected giggles.

"I have no clue what you said, honestly! But ok!" She said, giving the electric-type a placating scratch on the ears as she walked through the sliding doors and in to a room colored in what was literally the most peachiest shade of pink she'd ever laid eyes on. Blindingly bright with tones of orange and red mixed in, she practically did a U-turn right back into the streets of Viridian, disoriented as she was at the sight, and she must've looked quite odd because she was immediately set upon by the resident nurse and lady in charge. _'And if Grandpa and Grandma were ever here, they'd have a heart attack at the sight. According to them, the only wounds a woman should be fixing are scraped knees and paper cuts.' _She'd thought bitterly, before focusing in on the conversation.

"You must be one of the new trainers from Pallet Town, correct?" The woman asked, all gentle smiles, blue eyes, and dark pink hair done in the strangest arrangement of ponytails and pig-tails she'd ever seen on a human being. "Welcome, and I'm sorry if I seem a little forward. But you did seem a little lost. Is everything okay?"

"Oh, ah, yes ma'am, just a couple of questions that's all… I've never been in a pokémon center before, honestly…"

"Don't worry, most new trainers haven't unless their parents are pokémon trainers. The novelty will wear off eventually, I'm sure."

"Ah, well that makes me feel a little better… I guess…" Ashe grimaced a little, mouth twisting up at the corners before dropping into some semblance of a less nervous smile. "Um… my questions?" She stuttered out, unsure if she was being rude or not, and not wanting to waste any more time than she already had gawking at the building when she'd first entered.

"Yes, of course. What is it you'd like to know?" The woman inquired, motioning for the young girl to follow her as she walked back behind the counter she'd first come all but prancing out of. "I'm Nurse Joy by the way, one of several all going by the same name, and as you can imagine, there's usually one of us stationed at every center around the region, and across the globe."

"Really?" Ashe asked, amazed at such a statement. That had to be a large family, spread as far as they were if what the woman said was indeed true. She couldn't imagine having so many siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces, even if she did feel like trying.

"Yes, we are a very large family. And I've been told by more experience trainers that we all share an uncanny resemblance. I've never noticed myself though, to be honest." The woman confirmed with a nod, pulling out a tray with six circular indents in the surface. "Put all of your pokémon in here, and I'll get them healed up for you." She instructed, watching patiently as Ashe rushed to comply. The thirteen year old paused when she realized that the pikachu was still on her shoulder, and looked at the pokémon she'd come to call "Sparkler" both out of a necessity for some degree of normalcy, and the fact that it made the pikachu more approachable if she gave it nickname.

It was stupid to be honest. Sparkler would definitely have not been her first pick for any name, it certainly wasn't the best she could've come up with, but with that bright, tell-tale spark in its eyes and the fact that thing's cheeks wouldn't stop crackling with electricity, it had seemed to fit better than anything else she could've come up with at the time. She'd maybe pick a better one later on, of course, especially if the pikachu finally got tired of being called as such, but for now Sparkler would do.

"So," she began, placing a hand on her hip as the electric-type hopped down from its place on her shoulder, looking at her with a quirked eyebrow, _'Do pikachu even have eyebrows?'_, and looking far more human than any actual human she'd ever met. "What _are_ the chances that I'll be able to get you into your pokéball with minimum fuss?" She questioned, watching as Sparkler's eyes narrowed and its cheeks began to spark again. A warning if she'd ever seen one, and all the answer she needed. "Right, does this one have to be in its pokéball? Or can you heal him without it?" She responded with a nod, immediately turning on the heel of her boots to face the patient woman.

Nurse Joy seemed to pause in thought, silently contemplating her answer before finally speaking, "I can, but it would take a little longer than if it were in a pokéball. Is that okay with you?"

"So long as it doesn't take more than twenty minutes I'm good. I can use the time to get some questions answered anyway." Ashe agreed, allowing for the woman to take the pokéballs and pokémon, disappearing into the back for a moment before returning.

"You mentioned that you have some questions, correct?" Nurse Joy smiled, hands crossed delicately on the countertop and reminding her of her mother whenever they had visitors. "What can I help with?"

"This might sound a little strange, but does Kanto have a port town or airport?"

"Yes, we have both, though they are a little out of the way. Might I ask why?"

"I want to get out of the region, go someplace else. I've only ever been in Kanto."

"Well, it's not completely unheard of for trainers to start their journeys in other regions, not very common of course, but definitely not so rare. Do you have any idea where you'd like to go?" She asked, voice comforting and assuring in a way her own mother had never seemed to be able to manage after she'd turned eight and they stopped seeing eye to eye. Ashe paused to mull over her choices, she hadn't been outside of Kanto ever, and in fact had never even gone past Viridian before. Her experiences and knowledge of the outside world was limited at best, and she didn't know of many regions outside of Kanto. There was Johto, but the two regions were only separated by a mountain range, and she didn't feel like that was far enough to travel.

But where?

"Kalos maybe…" She finally said, almost sounding as if she were in a trance when she remembered the postcard her father had given her, the postcard that was currently in her storage capsule for safe keeping. If she right, and it hadn't just been some other region in hastily scrawled gibberish, than the region her father had recently left when he'd sent the letter was called Kalos. If she could get to there, or even some place a little less far like… "Or Unova. Either of the two would work.

"Well there's a ship docked at Vermillion City that will be leaving for Unova in two weeks, and a plane bound for Kalos will be stopping at the airport in Celadon next week on Tuesday. If you're willing to wait that long, of course, I'm sure they would be happy to take you to either destination." The nurse said as she typed away on the computer to her left, reading off the information that popped up on the screen.

"Really?" Ashe asked in amazement, a little shocked at how convenient this was turning out to be for her.

"Yes, oh!" Nurse Joy chirped, a distinct dinging noise heard over intercom drawing both of their attention and causing the woman to go scampering towards the back.

Ashe waited for a few seconds, idly staring at the wall in a growing sense of boredom, before the nurse came back, a strange, egg-shaped pokémon at her side that looked all too happy with itself and a rolling cart carrying both Sparkler and the rest of her pokémon before them.

"Your pokémon are ready, and surprisingly healthy. You haven't had the chance to battle with them yet, have you?" Nurse Joy questioned as she handed the three pokéballs back to the young girl and then stepped back, allowing the electric-type to climb back onto Ashe's shoulder.

"Yeah, in too big a rush I'm afraid."

"Well, you're gonna wanna train them up and get them used to battling pretty soon. The wild pokémon are going to be getting a lot tougher from here on out, and quickly, and I don't think you want to spend most of your adventure running away."

"Ok, ma'am. Thanks for the advice."

"You're welcome. Oh, before you go, would you like a room to stay in, it's getting dark out there and honestly not very safe for a young girl just starting out."

The nurse meant well, Ashe knew that, and the offer was extremely tempting. But she couldn't take her up on that offer. Even if the rooms were free, the longer she stayed in one place the more likely she was to get caught. She'd already taken a big risk in walking into the pokémon center, and staying would just jeopardize her chances further than they already were. She was still too close to Pallet to relax fully, and she probably wouldn't be able to until she put as many continents and land masses as possible between her and her hometown.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm in a bit of a rush." She finally replied adjusting her backpack and making sure all three pokéballs were properly fastened to her belt. "Again, I appreciate all the help. But I think I can manage a couple of nights in the wild. Take care!" She called already skipping her way out of the building.

With a final wave, and before Nurse Joy could say anything to stop her, she was gone, disappearing into the settling darkness and flickering street lights that was a night in Viridian City.

* * *

Deliah couldn't believe it, didn't want to believe and honestly wasn't entirely sure that she could've if she'd even tried. Her only daughter was gone, without a trace or clue as to where she'd vanished to. The room had been in as much of one piece as it could've been, considering almost everything that could be stuffed into a suitcase had been, and that Ashe had been packed to leave for her grandparents' come that very morning. And according to the officials, there was no sign of a struggle either, so it wasn't likely that the thirteen year old had been kidnapped.

'_But __**my **__Ashe wouldn't run away! There has to be something they're missing!' _But what could it be? And really it was Deliah's fault in the end. Or that was what the woman figured at the very least.

She hadn't noticed any unusual behavior from Ashe the night before her apparent disappearance, and she hadn't bothered to check on Ashe until an hour before noon, thirty minutes before the girl's grandparents would've shown up to whisk her away to their nice home in Saffron. And what a nice home it was, the very same place she'd grown up in, until she'd moved to Pallet for some peace and quiet that couldn't be found in the big city. She missed it sometimes, and she'd been so sure that Ashe would like there just as Deliah had when she was Ashe's age. But Ashe couldn't enjoy anything if she wasn't there.

And right now, as far Deliah could tell, her little baby girl wasn't anywhere to be found.

She hadn't panicked at first, figuring that her daughter might've gone out to bid her friends some last goodbyes before leaving, and had just forgotten the time that her family was coming. So she called up the parents, expecting Ashe or even one of the other girls in town to answer the phone. But then when the parents had answered, and had said that none of them had seen Ashe since yesterday, well Deliah got a little nervous. More than a little nervous actually, but she refused to panic.

So she went looking around town, and even visited Professor Oak's to see if he had seen her daughter at all. Ashe loved pokémon, more than anything truthfully, but such creatures were extremely dangerous, and while Deliah didn't mind so much if she spent time at the man's lab, it was still better safe than sorry. It was for that very reason after all, that Deliah, thanks to the good sense that her parents held, forbade Ashe from going on her pokémon journey. And she couldn't help but frown in slight disapproval when she saw the other little girls in town all bright eyed and ready for such a dangerous thing as leaving home on a pokémon journey. Traveling and getting dirty was more for boys than girls in the woman's opinion, an opinion that for some obscure reason, her Ashe didn't share, but these weren't her daughters. So she had no place in sending them home where they probably belonged. If their parents wanted to let their girls get hurt then so be it, but it was the least of her concerns at the moment.

She had waited patiently of course, letting the professor get his "students" set and ready to take off on their grand adventures, before asking the man about her daughter's whereabouts. But when he'd given a negative response, told her that he hadn't the faintest clue as to where her daughter might be. Deliah truly began to fear for Ashe's safety. What if she was lost, or hurt, or worse?

Yes, at that point she was honestly panicking, but she couldn't find her daughter. How could anyone blame her for that? So she rushed home, praying that maybe she'd just missed Ashe entirely and her little girl was sitting at home, waiting for her patiently to return. When she got there though…

Ashe wasn't home. And in fact hadn't been anywhere in town from what she could figure out.

And by the time her parents had showed up, Ashe was still missing. She had wanted to call the police, but her parents had talked her out of it. Saying that Ashe was just being how she was typically, wandering about and generally wild and rebellious. She wasn't missing; she just wasn't there right now. Come sun down, Ashe would be home, covered in mud and twigs most likely, and then they'd get her cleaned up and taken to Saffron where she'd learn to be a proper lady, just like her mother.

But sundown came, and still no Ashe in sight. And Deliah put her foot down. It didn't matter what her parents said anymore. Her daughter, her only child, her own flesh and blood was missing. She wasn't home, wasn't in town and could very well be in trouble. She could be in danger, and need help, and where was her family, sitting at home in the living room drinking tea and making excuses!

So she called the police, to her parents' growing chagrin, and they came as fast as they could, considering that the nearest station was in Viridian.

They'd swept her daughter's room, asked what they thought were appropriate questions. A couple of times Deliah had felt like they were blaming her, but if she paused to think about it, she realized that it made sense in a way, to blame her that is. As offended as she was at the mere thought that she would ever hurt her daughter. If she had found out that Ashe was missing at around noon, why had she waited until it was so late to call? Why not the instant she realized that Ashe wasn't home? And her own answers seemed to put the blame on her parents and make them the guilty party in the police's eyes.

But she didn't want someone to blame, she wanted Ashe home, and safe, and sound. Not whoever took her daughter.

Eventually it was decided that Ashe hadn't been taken at all, or rather that the likelihood of it being a kidnapping was becoming less and less apparent. No, to the police, it seemed that Ashe had run away from home instead. But that couldn't be true! _'My Ashe wouldn't run away! She's my baby girl! I know what she's like and she wouldn't-!' _Tears running down her eyes as they were, she realized belatedly that maybe she didn't know her daughter as well as she liked to think she did.

She'd never approved of Ashe's behavior, and their relationship had dwindled a little. Had she been asking too much of her daughter, and as a result caused her to run away? It couldn't possibly be true. Deliah loved Ashe, and only wanted what was best for her little girl. _'But the path to Hell is paved with good intentions, isn't it Deliah? You little fool you made your daughter run away, and you didn't even realize it until it was too late.'_

Deliah'd been so stupid! And she knew that she had been. She'd pushed her only daughter away, made her feel trapped and shackled. Had she ever even asked Ashe's opinion before?

'_No… No I hadn't.'_

And now she'd lost Ashe.

* * *

A/N. So by the end of it I'd decided that it was time to check things out from Deliah's point of view. And there you go, into the head of a woman who's just now realizing she maybe doesn't know her daughter nearly as well as she likes to think she does. Hope you guys have a nice day and thanks for reading! Please leave a review, and see ya!


	3. Invisible Bars

A/N. Well, here's the next chapter!

**Disclaimer: Last I checked I didn't own Pokémon at all, otherwise I'd have made sure there was a game out already that let you visit multiple regions, design your own character fully (or to an extent), maybe play as a pokémon instead of a human, and allowed you to have a pokémon in your party walk out beside you like in the generation 2 remakes. (Come on Nintendo! Make it happen, pls!)**

* * *

**EP 3: Invisible Bars**

* * *

She hadn't been in any particular rush trekking the forest as she was, and what forest it was turning out to be really. There were enough twigs, mud, and leaves to keep her smelling rather foul for days on end, if not for the neat little river she'd found somewhere between face-planting rather spectacularly into nearest patch of questionable muck and de-tangling her hair from those grabby tree branches. She didn't think she'd ever had so much trouble navigating the woods, what with the majority of her childhood being spent all but living in the trees, in-between driving her mother insane, but the Viridian Forest was certainly dead set on proving her wrong on all accounts.

Sparkler sure did find amusement in her hopeless floundering, watching from the safety of the nearest tree branch as she honestly made a right fool of herself. But it was a rather short-lived amusement, once they finally, and rather ungracefully broke through the tree lines and her feet finally landed on something that wasn't some sticky mixture of mud, grass, and dead leaves. And regardless of the various screw-ups she'd had, she could honestly say that she'd never had more fun in her entire, admittedly short life.

Though not everything had been completely easy for her. The nurse back in Viridian City had mentioned there being both a plane and a boat bound for two different, very far away regions. She knew very little of either beyond the fact that one had at one point been traversed by her father, and she'd only heard of Unova in passing, usually from the mothers of trainers who had gotten to go on their own journeys and had at the very least, made it out of Kanto, instead of just giving up and going home.

Part of the problem of getting to both regions though was time. The boat to Unova left in a little under two weeks, and she'd already wasted a day's worth of time getting lost in the forest. But the plane would arrive in even less time than that, and she didn't know where Celadon or Vermillion City was in relation to Viridian, or even Pallet Town for that matter. She should've asked the nurse for directions truthfully, but she'd been in too much of a rush to get out of Viridian before her mother called the police and her face was all over the regional news. _'Or, and here's an even more novel idea… Ask for a fucking map!'_

She still couldn't figure out if it was a blessing or a curse that she hadn't stumbled upon a single human face during her time kissing dirt in the woods, but hindsight always had a habit of biting her in the ass whenever it got the chance to do so. And luck could only get her so far before she ran out and found herself in deep shit, and she knew it, so it was either turn herself in now with both hands raised or continue on in her admittedly half-planned, hair-brained schemes.

And Ashe snorted at the thought of actually giving up.

"The world will come to a burning end at my hands before I ever give up." She said aloud, causing the pikachu sitting on her shoulder to give her a rather crazy look before it rolled its eyes at her and hopped down from her shoulder. "What? Don't you talk to yourself too sometimes?" She asked, tone slightly sarcastic as she grinned down at the electric-type, watching it as it darted slightly ahead of her before turning around and coming to a near complete stop. It eyed her meaningfully for a few split seconds before chittering some gibberish that both knew would go straight over the girl's head.

Ashe still managed to get the gist of what it was probably saying.

"So what? You want to leave now, or stay? Cuz I'm not stopping you either way. I made a promise back at that lab, didn't I?" She asked, tilting her head at the yellow mouse before continuing, "We've been out of Pallet Town for more than a day now, just say the word and off you go."

Sparkler actually seemed shocked at her words, as if the little guy had fully expected her to go back on her word and force it to stay with her until it was no longer convenient. But the shock didn't last long and before Ashe could even blink, the electric-type had slapped her upside the head with its tail and given her the same expression any of her human friends had when she'd asked a question with such an obvious answer it left them all tickled for days afterwards. Questions like if they'd forgiven her for some veritably stupid action she'd taken the day prior, or for some stupid fight they'd all had. The same expression that told her quite clearly that everything was okay and there was no need to worry, they were still friends, no matter what.

And the realization of what that look meant coming from this little mouse of a pokémon that had far too much attitude for such a tiny body had her laughing long and loud for quite a few minutes.

"Ok, ok, I get it," She'd cried her surrender when the electric-type had taken offense to her obvious amusement and had sparked her hair into an unmanageable mess of static frizz and tangled curls. She'd have to get all chopped off into something easier to handle later, but for right now it apparently served as a just punishment in the eyes of the little creature that was fast becoming a rather awesome friend. "You know what?" Ashe asked, looking down at the smirking little mouse with an equally wide grin on both of their faces. "I've got quite a few human friends who would greatly approve of you." She said, bending down to give the pikachu a fond scratch behind the ears, before suddenly diving through the last bunch of bushes and into fresh, non-foresty air.

"Pika!" the electric-type cried in response as they finally caught daylight, and grass and trees finally gave way to a rather contrasting sight. Both pokémon and trainer stared wide-eyed at the sudden change, what was forest suddenly, and rather abruptly ending and tapering off into rocky, mountainous terrain and dirt roads.

"Well, out of the woods and into the mountains, right Sparkler?" Ashe asked as the two turned to stare at each other. Identical looks of muted awe met with identical shrugs before both decided to take a minor detour and settle down for a quick rest in a nearby outcropping of coffee brown rocks. Dust was kicked up with each step both took, and Ashe was honestly amazed at the sight, not having known that such an area existed in Kanto, though she should've honestly expected considering just how big the region was.

"I guess now's as good a time as any, huh?" She questioned as she plopped down onto a flat looking boulder. The pokémon in question nodded, and after taking a small step back, watched as its newly recognized trainer removed the two pokéballs from her belt and tossed the devices into the air, watching as near blinding flashes of light quickly faded into the distinct visages that were the rest of Ashe's little ragtag party of pokémon.

She didn't think they were much to look at for any outsider, but to her, they were special, and important, and far too unique for her to pass up and she honestly wouldn't have traded them for anything in the world. Even if she had stolen two of them, and the other was essentially a pet.

"Morning, I guess," she greeted as the two pokémon blinked themselves into something just barely passing for self-awareness, before finally shaking the last visages of an obvious nap out of their eyes and looking their trainer in her own. Upon full awakeness she was met with a rather mixed reception of something close to a flamethrower being spat at her only to just barely miss as she was bowled over instead by the over exuberant-ness that was her father's gift. "Ok, ok! I'm sorry for not calling you out of your pokéball sooner, but you don't have to tackle me every time you see me! You're worse than Casey!" Ashe barked out between peals of laughter as the ball of excitable brown fur rubbed their cheeks together and licked her far too much for her own liking.

Her stolen pokédex had dubbed the creature as an eevee when she'd first used the device, trying to figure out what she was dealing with when it came to the pokémon now rather suddenly under her care. From what she could derive of the various information it spouted in a voice that reminded her far too much of her teachers in school, it was a rather useful pokémon with a very unique characteristic; it could evolve, into multiple different types of pokémon, each with their own unique little strengths and weaknesses. She didn't much care about that though, she was just happy that the little normal-type was happy to see her, instead of upset or angry. And a plus was that the pokémon reminded her of one of her close friends.

Maybe not so much as a direct result though, it had gotten itself dubbed a rather interesting nickname.

"I'm happy to see you too, Bow. Now stop with the licking!" All complaints and objections happily ignored as they were, the copious amounts of affection the pokémon was showering her with only seemed to increase at the mention of the name Ashe had given it when she'd first taken the time to meet the rest of her team.

To be frank, Bow wasn't the most original name she could've come up with, and she'd actually had the time to really wrack her brain for a good one. She'd actually suggested quite a few, but the pokémon had turned its little nose up at any of the other ones she'd given it, much to the other two's growing amusement and her own fast-dwindling patience. She'd been ready to just forego the naming thing for now and pick at it later when the eevee had finally lost interest in their little game and had taken quite a vapid intrigue with their surrounding environment. Watching the bouncy little creature all but spaz at the sights and smells filling the forest, she was reminded quite thoroughly of a certain friend from home.

Casey. Sweet, attention deficit Casey who couldn't stay focused on anything for the amount of time it took to sneeze, and was honestly one of her closest friends. She was like a sister to Ashe, the closest one could get without actually being blood related honestly, and Ashe wouldn't have had the girl act any other way, even if it was better for her dwindling sanity. Coincidentally, Bow was the nickname Ashe had given Casey when the two had first become friends, due to the girl's abhorrent obsession with said accessories, ribbons and bows of any kind honestly. And to this day she still wore that nickname with a degree of pride that Ashe was certain anyone else would find reasonably worrying.

It had been on nothing more than a whim at the time, and out of ideas as she was, Ashe hadn't been entirely against trying at the very least. Low and behold, not only had the little guy responded, it had all but lunged itself into her lap when she'd called out the very same nickname. And Ashe found her to increasing surprise that it stuck, and stuck well.

"Charmander char-char-charmander!" Came the heat licking chuckles of the little fire starter that had almost singed her entire face off not even five seconds earlier, and once Ashe had finally managed to get Bow off for long enough to breathe properly, pokémon-saliva-free, she shot the pokémon a scathing glare that lost most of its effect the second it made contact mostly and only because Ashe couldn't mean it for the life of her. The fire-type was some lizard that, like Bow, had been dubbed as a charmander by the ever helpful nonsense that was a pokédex, and much like Sparkler, had an attitude all of its own.

Their first meeting hadn't gone over particularly well, and she hadn't expected much better considering how she'd technically stolen the pokémon from the labs. The little fire-breathing monster certainly was loath to let her forget that little fact anytime soon, what with its sudden fondness for pyrotechnics in the way of her hair and its attacks. Despite the rough start however, the pokémon seemed, at the very least, willing to work with her, and if she hadn't known any better she'd say it was even beginning to like her a little.

There was no doubt with anyone though, on whether or not she was starting to like it. Right from the start, and much like Sparkler, she'd seen something in the little lizard that had more than just impressed her, and as a result, she had dubbed it Sid, not for any special reason from what Ashe could tell herself. But it was by far the best of the names she'd come up with so far, and there was something about Sid that just fit the lizard without question. It certainly didn't mind the name and even seemed just as proud of it as the little eevee was of Bow.

Either way, to Ashe at least, they were family. Far closer than any of hers had actually been as of late, and certainly some of the best friends any human could ask for in the young girl's opinion. She figured that, at the very least, while they might never become so great as champions of a region, or even come close to conquering a league of any kind or level, they'd get far in life. They just had to stick together.

"So," She started as they all sat down, her little team attentive and all but hanging off of every word she spoke, "We've got options, but not a lot of time. So we need to pick a destination real quick, and figure out where we're going from here. That nurse lady back in Viridian mentioned a boat leaving for this Unova place in a little under two weeks. It's docking at some place called Vermillion. And then there's a plane landing in Celadon on Tuesday. I don't know about you three, but I certainly don't know where either of those cities are, and we're on a tight schedule. We need to get our tiny, little asses moving, and pronto. So what will it be?"

In response to her question, the first thing Bow did, was to promptly roll around in the dirt and dust, before getting back up and bouncing off to the nearest rocky surface that seemed vaguely interesting to any degree. Attention officially shot for the day, Ashe left the pokémon to its own devices, and instead focused on the remaining two, both of which seemed to actually be taking this entire conversation seriously, unlike the normal-type who seemed perfectly content to have vapid conversations with what appeared to be a rock of some sort.

After a few short moments of obvious thought, both Sid and Sparkler started chittering to her in rapid-fire succession, most of which went over her head, but considering that these three were the only other people she'd had to talk to in the past day, she felt like she was slowly beginning to understand them, if only a little bit.

"So you think we should first find a map, and figure out where these two cities are, before we pick a region to go to. Right?" She asked, looking at the two pokémon and feeling more than a little insane when they both nodded their heads at her in agreement. "So what? So we can figure out which one is closer and would take less time to get to?" Again, two very rapid nods that made Ashe feel once again like she was losing her mind.

"Pika!"

"Char-char!"

"Well okay then! Find a map, figure out where in the whole of Kanto these cities are, then either board a boat or fly a plane and get the fuck out of town." There were nods all around, minus one considering that Bow was still having its little conversation with a rock. "But first, we need to find the nearest city or town, to find a map." Ashe said, and again with the nodding, though this bout was quickly interrupted as Bow did its best impersonation of tumbleweed and bowled both the little mouse and fire-breathing lizard over in one go. And as she watched her little team land in a rather messy heap, she couldn't help but laugh. _'Yep, this is the best!'_

* * *

Gary had been bored lately, another failed league and another close loss under his belt. And what a loss it had been. Down to their last pokémon, and it'd come down to whose could continue to stand. In the end, it was his umbreon that had gone down first, and while he hadn't been blaming it for the loss, he had wished more than anything to win. He felt like he'd let his pokémon down, like he'd let down his hometown, and even his grandfather. And it hurt a little.

He was beginning to feel more than a little demotivated, but then again, he'd suffered a rather humiliating loss in Kanto. Kanto had been a fresh start though, the very beginning of his journey and lifestyle as a pokémon trainer. He'd been excited and honestly ready to show the world that Samuel Oak's grandson was just as big a threat as the rest of his family had been. It'd been muted a little at first though, when he'd found out that his long-standing rival and best friend couldn't go on a journey too. But Deliah had always been a little irrational when it had come to her daughter.

Gary had always guessed that it was the stress of raising a child all by herself that had done it, but the woman always seemed so high strung when dealing with Ashe's rambunctious nature. Like she wanted Ashe to be a little less like her father. Or really, maybe a whole lot less. Ashe's father, and honestly the boy couldn't be asked to even try and remember what the man's name was, had never been home for longer than a week at most, and that was if the family had been extremely lucky. Otherwise he was off in some unheard of region discovering new pokémon and generally giving Deliah and her disapproving parents a heart attack. He'd always just be there one second gone the next, and honestly both Ashe and Gary had gotten used to the man's spontaneous nature.

But Gary had gotten used to it because the same thing could be said for his then best friend. The girl was rather random in her ideas and wants, and often times it couldn't be predicted what she'd say or do next. She'd want to play hide and seek one second, than tag the next, get bored of that, and before long it turned into a fight to get her out of that one oak tree in his grandfather's yard.

Just like her father really, and maybe that really was the problem. Ashe being Ashe, meant that for all intense and purposes, whether she was fully aware of it or not, that she would always be more her father's daughter than her mother's. Her mother was prim and proper, and everything his grandfather had said would make a proper lady. But if that term could ever be applied to Ashe, then Gary was sure the world would be coming to a spectacular end. He'd never seen it as a particularly bad thing before but now…

"Wait, wait… So you're saying Ashe ran away from home?"

"_Yes Gary, I wouldn't lie to you about this… You know that." _The video feed was rather poor considering how close the Kanto and Johto regions were with each other, but it wasn't so bad that Gary could've mistaken those words for anything than what they were.

Ashe had always been spontaneous. But running away?

Not even Gary had thought her capable of such a thing. But then again, thinking back on the years before today, he should've something like this coming. They all should've honestly, and none of them had any right to really be surprised. Ashe and the new friends she'd made after their little fallout had always talked about packing up and leaving Pallet Town one day. Just grabbing a pokémon and some supplies and never looking back, and he guessed he could've seen the temptation such a thought held for those children. And Ashe had never made a secret of how much she hated that house she and Deliah lived in, how much she wished she could be anywhere else in the world.

* * *

**"_It's like a prison in there Gary… It really is… And sometimes I can't tell if my mom's the warden, or another prisoner… See?"_**

**"_See what?"_**

**"_The bars… oh but, you don't live there. You can't see the bars like I do… There invisible… Invisible bars is what Emma called them I think…"_**

**"_Invisible bars? Sounds crazy."_**

**"_Yeah, I guess it does Gary…"_**

* * *

"_GARY!"_ Said trainer practically choked on his own saliva as his grandfather's voice came screeching through his memories, causing him to practically drop the phone as he finally joined reality in the waking world.

"Ah, sorry 'bout that Grandpa. So what do you want to do?" he apologized, a hand coming to rest on his hip as his face screwed up in thought. Finding Ashe would be a little tricky, considering that there were at least two regions she could be in, and information could be very slow traveling between Kanto and Johto. Hell, even within the region news like a missing or runaway child took months to get around properly, and by the end of the week half of Kanto would still be in the dark on such a matter. And if Ashe hadn't changed nearly as much as Gary hoped she hadn't, then a week was all she needed to not only put several cities between herself and Pallet, but also get out of the region entirely, and maybe even off of the continent.

"_For now? Just keep an eye out for Ashe. I understand that the league in Johto is over for now, and several others are starting. If you want to come home than you'll have to backtrack to the Indigo Plateau and cut through Viridian City from there. It's very unlikely that Ashe will still be there by the time you arrive. But maybe…"_

"Maybe she's crossed into Johto, and I'll catch her on my way back. I'll see what I can do, but you know Ashe, and you know me. When it comes to hide and seek and tag, I've never won when it's Ashe I'm playing against. She's likes to play stupid sometimes, but she's a little too clever sometimes."

"_True, well, I'll be seeing you Gary. Make sure to take good care of yourself and your pokémon."_

"Of course Gramps, love ya." And the video went dark, his grandfather's aged visage disappearing from the screen.

Gary sighed, feeling a strange mixture of frustration and relief. "So you finally escaped, huh Ashe?" He asked, knowing he wouldn't get a response as he walking over to the nurse to retrieve his now fully healed pokémon. One of the pokéballs burst open randomly without warning, the bright flash of light giving way to the black, sleek form of one of his most loyal pokémon. Gary made sure the rest were properly fastened to their places before turning to face the dark-type, giving it a fond scratch behind the ears. "No more invisible bars."

"Umbre?"

* * *

A/N. Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! And sorry for the bit of wait. Something came up and I couldn't finish it till today. Please leave a review and tell me what you all think! See ya!


	4. Rocky Roads Ahead

A/N. Ok, so no lies. I was actually feeling pretty iffy health-wise for a couple of days, which kept me from updating, and honestly, and I am truly sorry about this. I discovered this new game on a trip to GameStop called Freedom Wars and all but drowned in it when I wasn't feeling horrendously nauseous. It's really good, so I totally recommend it for people with a lot of patience who don't mind button mashing and aren't at constant risk of an aneurism or something equally tragic and lethal and who own a PS vita and a semi-descent and totally stable internet connection. (Not that it's completely needed but it makes missions easier.). The game can be a little frustrating at times. **(READ: A lot.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

* * *

**EP 4: Rocky Roads Ahead**

* * *

"Damn…" was the frustrated mutter that left tan lips as reddish brown eyes narrowed at the flashing screen before her, facial expression screwed in some strange emotion stuck somewhere between anger and bemused exasperation. A thumb nail was caught rather unfortunately between gritting teeth as Ashe tried and failed to glare at the electronic device the resident nurse had offered her upon request. It wasn't pleasing, and she was starting to curse out any deity that could possibly hear her and be blamed for such an unfortunate turn of events.

She'd already been in a bad mood when entering the rocky confines that made Pewter City, having almost lost to an overzealous wild pokémon that thought she'd been somehow plotting on swiping its territory, and then run into some snarky newbie trainer that had somehow gotten himself a big head and still managed to be a worse battler than she and her three, horrifyingly inexperienced pokémon were. And this new turn of events was only making it worse.

"Why, oh why, does both Vermillion and Celadon City have to be so far away?!" It was a difficult, frustrating pill to swallow. But it was true, none-the-less. She'd already wasted at least four days' worth of time getting to just Pewter City alone, and getting to even Celadon would be a tricky, and possibly even futile race against time, even more so when she'd discovered that most of the roads leading to both towns were currently blocked for some obscure reason that the map couldn't explain to her. And with a whole entire cave system and two more cities in the way, it just made everything seem more impossible than it already had.

It definitely didn't help her souring mood that one of those towns just happened to be the same city her grandparents lived in.

Yet another place someone was liable to recognize her, for the sheer fact that her grandparents on her mother's side had this horrendous habit of bragging about their own family members when talking to friends. Said bragging including everything from embarrassing stories not even her own mother would've shared, to showing off pictures Ashe hadn't even wanted to take in the first place.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit…" She huffed out, rubbing Sparkler on the chin to soothe the pokémon despite her own use of a rather vulgar, if limited vocabulary.

"Pika…" Said electric-type cooed, cheeks sparking lazily as it leaned into her touch. It pawed slightly at the screen, watching in belated wonderment at what the device could do, before allowing its trainer control of the system again. Though all it seemed to be doing in all honesty, was put her in a horrendously bad mood.

"Ah, pardon?" a voice came, unfamiliar and entirely unwelcome as Ashe eyed the newcomer suspiciously. She wound up sighing slightly in the end though, shoulders sagging in slight defeat when she recognized the speaker as the resident Nurse Joy.

It still surprised her a little to see such a familiar face, and at the same time know that this person was still a complete and total stranger to her, and knew about as much about her as some random Johnny on the street.

"I'm sorry, I'm just in a bad mood…"

"I can kind of tell. If there's anything at all you need assistance with, you know all you need to do is ask, right?" the woman said, tone gentle as she took the map from the young trainer's hands. "A Pokémon Center is there to heal one's pokémon and rest, yes. But it is also there to help trainers in need, even if all that is required is a little push in the right direction."

Ashe eyed the woman skeptically for a split second, glancing back down at the map before looking her in the eye again, and sighing as she slumped back into the admittedly comfortable chairs lining the lobby.

"I need to get to Celadon in a by Tuesday, next week. I think… There's this plane bound for the Kalos region see? But with all the roads blocked that's going to be impossible… Vermillion City is my next best bet… but again, I only had two weeks as of Monday, and unless I'm wrong it's Thursday, and I'm kind of running out of time…"

"You got this information from my sister in Viridian City, correct?" Nurse Joy asked, with a practiced level of patience that honestly astounded Ashe in ways she probably would never admit to.

"Yes."

"Well then, you'll be happy to know that that plane bound for Kalos has been delayed by quite a bit."

"What?"

"Yes, it was going to leave next week, but Kalos and the air routes in-between are currently experiencing some severe weather. So they delayed it for at least another two weeks. That gives you three to get to Celadon. Unfortunately, you're a lot less lucky on the boat matter. Even if the roads weren't clear for travel, they canceled it due to the storm, and it's been permanently bound to Vermillion Harbor until further notice. All the sea routes it would've taken are currently far too dangerous to traverse, and it's been predicted that they won't settle until five weeks from now, at the earliest."

"Well, that sucks…" Ashe commented, face twisting up in a childish grimace as she thought about how limited her options had suddenly become. _'Not that there were a lot of 'em to begin with but still…' _"Um… would the roads have cleared by then?"

"No, I'm afraid not, but there are other routes to take." The woman answered, an apologetic smile on her face as she took a seat next to the trainer, map still in hand. "Though, if I might make a suggestion?"

"Yeah…"

"This is a rather basic map to be honest. Usually offered to trainers when they don't have a working Town Map of their own," she explained holding up aforementioned device. "It doesn't show every route and town that lays in Kanto, only the major ones that receive the most traffic, trainer and citizen wise. Since you don't seem to have a more detailed one of your own, I can commandeer one, but since you don't plan on staying in-region, it'd probably go to waste."

"Yeah… maybe…"

"So, here's my suggestion. Let me plot a quick course so you can get to Celadon quickly. But," she said, holding a finger up to stop the thirteen year old from interrupting her, "I need time. Not a lot, but at most two hours."

"Ok… but what am I supposed to do while I wait?"

"Well, there are a lot of things to do," Nurse Joy began again, a gentle smile on her face as she stood back up, pausing to pull out a small notepad and pen. She jotted something down quickly, before ripping out the page and handing it to Ashe. "We have a gym in Pewter City, which specializes in rock-types. The gym leader's name is Brock. While I get the Town Map ready and figure out a quick route, why don't you go and challenge him to a gym battle. You don't have to win, but it should eat up enough time that when you get back, I'll have your short cut."

"Are you sure? I mean… You still have so many pokémon to take care of and…"

"Nonsense. It's my job to help trainers and pokémon in need. Besides, compared to what I've had to do in the past, this is easy."

"O-Okay… But do you think I can handle a rock-type gym… I mean, I'm no experienced trainer, but even I know I'm at a huge disadvantage."

"Nonsense, I've seen trainers a lot worse off than you are challenge that gym and walk away with a badge. And you're charmander already knows Metal Claw. Which you puts you at an advantage compared to most others who start off with such a pokémon." Yeah, she still couldn't believe that herself. How stubborn little Sid, who apparently hated losing just as much as Ashe did, had somehow taught himself a move neither had known existed just to get the giant living boulder that had been laughing at the fire-type to stop.

The expression said rock-type had on its face had certainly been well worth the shock, but still.

"Ok." Ashe agreed finally after some thought, any and all hesitation gone from her voice as she stood up, slinging her backpack over a shoulder and making to leave the Center. "See ya soon ma'am, and who knows, maybe I'll have me one of them badges when I get back."

"Take care." The woman called, watching the suddenly confident trainer exit the building.

* * *

"Yo, Sparkler."

"Pika?"

"Remind me again how I let that lady talk me into challenging a gym of all things?"

"Pika-pi-pikachu."

"Right… Shit, I'm way in over my head on this, aren't I?"

"Pika!"

"Okay, so maybe I'm a little better off than you, Sid, and Bow, considering that _I'm _not the one fighting the giant moving boulders here."

"Pika…"

"Right, I just had an entire conversation with you. And you know what?"

"Pika?"

"I still have no clue what you're saying."

"Pi-pika…"

"Yep, we're royally screwed…"

* * *

A/N. Ok, so honestly, I wanted to make this chapter longer, I really did. But I was having so much difficulties just getting what I got typed down, typed down. So for now, and I'm really super sorry about this, this'll be what you get. It's probably terrible. But still, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Next up, we'll put some action in this and see how Ashe does in a high-pressure battle. Anyways, please tell me what you guys think, and see ya!

Also, so one of those problems I ran into was that in canon, Ash was registered under Prof. Oak as a pokémon trainer. Any wild pokémon he captured after reaching six, were sent to the professor's lab in Kanto. But in this story, Ashe isn't registered as a trainer under a professor. Not that that changes the fact that she technically owns those pokémon. Which she does, because if pokémon were real and you could look at the pokémon's registration forms, they are hers. Anyways, the problem here is that she isn't registered with a professor like her canon counterpart. She can't have more than six pokémon, otherwise where would they go.

It makes this a little easier on me of course, cuz I have a terrible memory and wouldn't be able to keep track of a lot of pokémon but still. At most, Ashe will have seven pokémon, maybe eight for now, until I can figure out a satisfactory way to run this so there's no plothole to fall into. So while she might be running into a lot of pokémon in this fic. Please don't expect her to catch every single last one she sees.

Now I'm open for suggestions of course, but just so you guys know. NO LEGENDARY POKÉMON. I mean it, Psuedo-legendries are ok I guess, maybe, but nothing like Diancie, or Victini, or Mew, or any of them. And please, try and keep your suggestions under six, because any more than that is a little tricky to keep track of.

Anyways, again, see ya!


	5. Warning of Imposters?

A/N. So I read the reviews for last chapter, tossed some eggs in the air, and waited for one to hatch an idea that didn't suck. In all honesty, I still have no clue what I'm going to do about that "storage" issue, but I do have ideas that I can potentially work with. It's a work in progress. But it's a job I plan on succeeding at.

In the meantime though…

NEW CHAPTER!

**Disclaimer: Am I filthy stinkin' rich? Nope… Still don't own pokémon either.**

* * *

**EP 5: Warning of Imposters?**

* * *

Fingers fidgeted at her side, clenching at the clothe of her shirt, only to let go just as quickly before flying up to her mouth. Nails bitten down as they were though, there was nothing to be done but allow them to drop back to her side. She'd never been so close to pokémon gym before, and the very thought of what she was about to do left her jumpy in so many different ways.

Challenging gyms, taking on the leagues, even if unofficially. That was what her father did, what Gary Oak was known for. High stress situations in high stress environments. Thirteen year olds like Ashe got leashed by their parents and forced into not doing anything particularly productive with their lives. She wasn't prepared for this at all.

And yet here she was, standing in front of a set of double doors a hospital level of clean, nothing but pitch darkness on the other side and this foreboding yet exhilarating feeling bubbling from somewhere in the pit of her stomach. She was… Excited to say the least, though to be honest, it was the only word she could think of to describe the rather anxious feeling her gutt was exhibiting. Or maybe it wasn't her gutt, but her mind. It didn't matter in the end, she was here and she'd never been one to break under pressure or back down from anything.

Even the most stupidly dangerous challenge had been taken on with nothing more than a huff of determination and a violent pulling back of long, constantly tangled hair. This could be considered as much the same, and maybe that would keep her from potentially losing whatever the contents of her stomach might've been all over the nice, clean floors as well. Because _that _would definitely not help her at all with what she was about to do.

Taking a deep breath and actually entering the building would probably be good start though.

"Pika." She all but jumped out of her own skin, staring at the electric-type now rolling on the floor, laughing at her with what was probably the most stupid expression she'd ever held for any amount of time. Pride wounded as it was though, she couldn't muster up a good enough expression to show the little bastard just what she thought of its apparent amusement at her own expense.

"You're lucky I like you…" She grumbled at the little sparking mouse, crossing her own arms petulantly over her chest before stomping her way through the double doors and into the darkness that was interior of the gym.

"It wouldn't kill them to put in some lights, right?" She asked as she bumped her elbow against another wall, grumbling slightly in pain as she glared into the pervading darkness. Sparkler mumbled in agreement from somewhere to her left, having yet to return to its usual perch on her shoulder.

"Pika!"

"Ha! Not so fun running into walls is it, Sparkler?" She laughed, looking down at the small sparks arcing off the electric-type's cheeks.

"Pi-pika! Pikachu-pi Pikapi…"

"I'm just going to assume you cussed me out…" She said, chuckling slightly as the pokémon gave up finally on navigating the darkness on its own and hopped onto the relative safety her shoulder apparently provided. "Ah, it's okay. I'll just get all the bruises and bumps, you still have to battle."

"Pika!"

"Yeah, yeah, I like you too." She said, rubbing cheeks with the staticky mouse, both hands now braced against what she assumed was a wall of some sort. Or hoped rather, because for all she knew, it was one of those moving boulders the pokédex had identified as a rock-type, and it just hadn't bothered to move yet. "Arceus, this sucks!"

"Arceus has nothing to do with this."

"Holy shit!" Ashe cried out, a series of spotlights flashing to life without warning or prompt, leaving both trainer and pokémon blinded and blinking in shock. "Who's there?"

"The name's Brock."

"Brock? As in the gym leader?" She questioned rubbing her eyes furiously, only to blink as everything finally blurred back into sight.

The room was large, littered with rocks and boulders of varying sizes and shapes. On the largest stood a boy, hair short and spiky, and skin, a dark, coffee color. He couldn't have been more than eight years old, though, barely half her own age, and she would've been a little proud of the boy for that. Maybe even impressed, if it weren't for the very apparent fact that the boy was lying through his teeth at her.

Contrary to popular belief, while she'd never actually gone within ten feet of a gym before, she knew what a gym leader looked like and typically how they held themselves from her father.

Even the ones who were new at the job, no matter what age they were, held themselves vastly different to the boy before her. There was a certain kind of confidence, of sureness, that came with being a gym leader apparently. They didn't stand there, a proud expression on their faces and chests protruding out in some show of brilliance that honestly went over her own head.

They might've held their heads high, but there was a sense of experience to be found when looking at a gym leader. Or at least, that was what her father had told her, eyes sparking a strange, luminescent shade of blue that had all but hypnotized at a young age. And while she'd never been privy to the exact workings of such a sense, her father had said that one day she'd probably be able to do the same.

When and if, she ever became a pokémon trainer.

He'd all but promised she could, he'd sweared.

She wasn't entirely sure if this was what the man had been talking about. But she could tell. This ten year old boy, while knowledgeable about pokémon, was no gym leader. He was lying through his teeth, and both of them knew it, even if he didn't know that she did.

She'd go along with it anyways.

"I'm here to challenge the gym." She declared, probably sounding more sure than she actually felt.

"And you think you can win?" The boy, "Brock", asked, sounding a lot like Gary had when he'd first started out on his journey. Cocky, like he knew he could and would win, no matter what he was faced with.

She'd fed Gary that cockiness on a silver platter with a mean right hook once, though that had ended with her getting grounded for a whole five months once her mother found out.

She wasn't entirely above doing the same to an ten year old.

"I think I stand a good chance!" She'd challenged, "I can't say the same for you though!"

The boy actually seemed strangely disconcerted by her words. Staring at her like there was something strange on her face, though there very well could've been something on her face and she just couldn't tell or see.

"F-Fine!" He challenged right on back, and she had to give the boy credit where credit was due. He was clearly nervous, but he wasn't backing down or admitting that maybe he was in over his head. "This will be a two-vs.-two battle. With the challenger the only one able to change pokémon."

"Ok! Sparkler, let's see what you can do!" She called out in agreement, finding it surprising how smooth it felt as said electric-type all but rolled down her arm from her shoulder, using her fisted hand as a launch pad of sorts, and landing rather gracefully on the clearly marked battlefield.

"A pikachu?" The boy questioned, a little shocked at the sight of the violently sparking mouse. "No matter! A tiny mouse is nothing compared to this big guy! Go, Onix!" The boy cried out, flinging the red and white ball into the air.

The boulder snake, because that was the only way to describe such a beast in Ashe's opinion as it appeared in a brilliant flash of light, landed with such a heavy thud that the ground beneath their feet shook.

"Woah…" Ashe whistled, a manic grin spreading across her face at the sight of the rock-type, despite how nervous she felt on the inside. _'Or maybe… maybe that's actually excitement… I can see why the Old Man likes this kind of stuff…' _ She thought, that grin only growing as hands flexed at her side. "That's one big pokémon…"

"Still so confident?" The boy questioned, looking far more sure of himself than he had when he'd first claimed to be the gym leader.

"Actually," She said, tone dripping with an emotion that could only be called joy. "I'm excited!" She admitted finally. Sparkler shook itself in agreement, electricity arcing off of its entire body now, instead of just from its little red cheeks.

"Pika!"

"Let's start!"

"Onix, head start with a Screech!" The boy commanded, not even giving Ashe a chance as the pokémon looked back at the boy for a split second before releasing a painful wail.

"Watch out!" Ashe called, moving out of the way of the attack as Sparkler rolled as well. Caught off guard as they were, and far too busy getting out of the way of the attack. Neither saw or heard it when the boy ordered the heavy-weight rock-type to charge.

"Tackle!"

"Shit! Sparkler, try to get out of that! Use Thunder Shock!" the thirteen year old commanded, eyes widening in shock as the attack did nothing to deter the rock-type's violent charge. With a pained cry, Sparkler flew into the air, bouncing across the ground in something far too jarring a sight for the young girl.

For a split second, Ashe had thought that the attack had all but killed the little mouse to be honest. But then the little guy got back up, shaking itself out of its temporary daze, and sparking violently now. "Alright!" She'd cheered, trotting over to give the mouse a small scratch behind the ears, before it bounded back into the ring for more.

"Pika!"

"Okay, time for a counter-attack!" Ashe said to herself, eying the battlefield for a few seconds, before an idea hit her. _'So for whatever reason, electric-type attacks don't work on that onix-thingy… Got it!' _"Sparkler, let's play pin ball!" Ashe called out suddenly, pointing towards the rocky terrain surrounding them.

"What? Onix, use Take Down!" the boy ordered, not wanting to chance whatever Ashe was plotting on her side of the field.

"Use Quick Attack!"

"Pika!" The electric-type chittered in confirmation, taking off at a brilliant speed just as the onix passed by, charging right past Ashe into a very solid looking wall.

"Onix!" The boy cried out, watching with clear hesitation on his face as the rock-type slowly raised itself up and out of the debris.

It roared in slight anger, turning around to face the little mouse that had dodged it, only to suddenly take a tail to the face, expression turning dazed as the electric-type rebounded off of it and came to a skidding halt on the ground.

"Onix, shake it off!"

"Keep it up, Sparkler!" Ashe commanded, moving slightly as her pikachu darted off in the direction behind her, the now very angry rock-type hot on its heels as it barreled past.

"Onix, Rock Slide!" the boy commanded then, clearly just as tired of meowth-and-rattata game as his onix was.

"Sparkler, watch out! Try and get above 'em!" Ashe instructed, watching with a wild grin onas the battlefield descended into complete chaos. Smoke bellowed up from what was probably the largest crater she'd ever seen in her life, and Ashe couldn't help the pensiveness that overcame her as she watched the gray smog clear.

"Great job, Onix!"

"Pikachu!" Ashe grinned, eyes sparking at the sight of the little yellow mouse perched so proudly in the rafters above their heads. Sparkler's expression was so telling, screaming mockery at their opponents and oh so pleased with its little trick.

She'd had no clue as to how exactly it had gotten so far up, and she'd honestly expected that to be a loss on her part. That attack should've honestly knocked out the little electric-type. And yet there it was smirking at all of them far above their heads, its expression taunting them all.

And then that taunting expression turned into one that even Ashe was dreading.

"Pika…" It was the only warning anyone got, before electricity came surging through the metal overhead, causing everyone to duck as an alarm started blaring from somewhere in the building and water rained down on their heads from the now very busted sprinkler system.

All too quickly Ashe's clothes were soaked through, water causing it cling rather uncomfortably to her body and dripping from the tips of her fingers, nose, and even her hair. She probably looked very much like a drowned rattata, and probably had what one of her friends had so kindly termed as her "psyduck-look" on her face, but she was having fun, a lot of fun.

"Sparkler!" She cried out, whatever edge that might've been in her tone lost in the laughter that overtook her. "When I said get above their heads, I didn't mean set the sprinkler syster off… You little…" The threat died quickly on her lips as she stopped flop her arms, trying and failing to get at least some of the water off of her.

"Oh… Onix!" the boy's worried voice was the only thing to shake Ashe from her reverie, as she eyed the rock-type currently writhing in pain as it continued to get pelted by water.

"What the-?" She watched then, a morbid sense curiosity taking her as she observed the fighting. "Rock-types… are weak against water?" she questioned as the boy recalled the rock-type, looking very upset.

"That wasn't fair!" He snapped, fingers tense around the devise as he looked over the destruction that had so quickly befallen the room. "That wasn't fair at all… The… Onix is… And you're pikachu! My brother's going to kill me!" He screamed from across the battlefield finally, tears brimming in his eyes as he huffed and puffed, threatening to throw a very visible temper tantrum.

"I-I'm sorry?" Ashe apologized finally, unsure as she too, took in the very visible damage. "Um… Who's your brother?"

At the seemingly innocent question, the boy winced slightly, falling silent as he slumped himself over into a defeated little ball.

Any and all amusement Ashe might've felt died a very quick and brutal death at the sight, and she was tentative as she picked her way through the damage and debris, carefully sitting her already soaked self down next to the boy.

They were silent, Ashe watching the boy as he tucked his head into his knees and possibly cried at his frustrations into his already wet clothes. Eventually Sparkler joined the two, ears twitching speculatively as it surveyed the many puddles now littering the floor, as well as the crater and even the collapsed wall.

"You're not the gym leader." Ashe stated, because there was no question to be had on the subject. The boy wasn't the gym leader, never had been. But she thought he was certainly worthy of the title, if not a little young for it.

The boy sniffed slightly at that, viciously rubbing his eyes dry with his shirt sleeve, before finally speaking up. "Yeah, I… The real gym leader is my older brother…"

"So why did you pretend to be Brock?"

"Because he was out… and I… It didn't seem like a bad thing to do at the time."

"Nothing ever does."

"Pika…" The boy sniffed again, a wobbly, small smile on his face as he gently scratched electric-type behind the ears.

She was a little shocked that Sparkler had let the boy, but seeing as how a lot of the damage had been partially their fault to some degree, it could very well be allowed. The electric-type was certainly in no position to be getting huffy with anyone, considering it had purposefully broken the sprinkler system.

"You know, for not being a gym leader, you did pretty good."

"R-Really?"

"Yep." Ashe chirped, shifting slightly so her legs were spread out in front of her, feet swinging to and fro. "I have a feeling that you would've won that battle. That is, if Sparkler hadn't broken the sprinkler system."

"Oh crap… Don't remind me…" Ashe chuckled as the boy groaned in frustration, both leaning back against the large boulder.

* * *

"Forrest? Hey, where are you? Forre-!" Both children winced, nervous laughter echoing off the walls as an older trainer walked into the still very destroyed, though now completely dry room.

"Oops?"

"Forrest, what happened?" The newcomer asked, tone stern, though his demeanor clearly stated that maybe this happened far more often than Ashe had originally thought.

"Uh…Hey Brock." Forrest said, fingers pulling at the hem of his shirt and eyes stubbornly fused to the ground. Brock sighed, carefully making his way over some of the debris to where the two children stood looking horrendously guilty and more than a little nervous. Ashe pulled her hat down, careful of meeting the older trainer's eyes.

Now this was a gym leader.

"Forrest, how many times have I told you not to pretend to be the gym leader. You could get in a lot of trouble. Not to mention the amount of damage that could occur!"

"I'm sorry…" Whatever apology might've been on the boy's lips was cut short, a comforting hand falling on his head and ruffling already messy hair as the gym leader turned to face Ashe.

"Sorry about Forrest here, you'll have to forgive him. He's just really excited about someday being the gym leader."

"That's okay. It was fun battling him and his pokémon, and anyways nobody got hurt!" Ashe soothed, the two high-fiving each other with identical smirks on their face. "Besides, I was just here to kill sometime anyways. The lady at the Pokémon Center sent me here to wait, I guess she thought a battle would be for me or something."

"Oh, you must be the trainer she was telling me about then." Ashe chuckled nervously at that, nodding her head slightly in hesitation, worried that maybe she'd run out of time trying to help Forrest clean up the mess they'd made battling each other. "I tried to hurry back, but it looks like Forrest had everything covered. Well, so long as you're okay with it…"

"Really, it's fine. I should probably get going anyways. Sparkler needs a good rest after all the fun we had, and anyways, she's probably done with that task she was helping me with."

"If you're sure…"

"Yep!" Suddenly very afraid of how long she was taking, she scooped the little electric-type up in her arms, before bowing to the two and bolting out of the building with a wave.

The two brothers stood there, slightly bewildered at the rushed behavior, before turning to each other.

"Uh…"

"She does realize that that pikachu is male, right?"

"Uh…"

* * *

"Oh, there you are!"

"Hey Nurse Joy! So did you get it?" Ashe questioned as she ran into the center and straight towards the counter. The woman smiled, a bright smile on her face as the thirteen year old came to screeching halt. She nodded, and Ashe's face lit up in excitement as she listened to the woman's response.

"Yes, actually. Now, since the roads are blocked," Joy started, placing a town map on the counter between themselves. "It would normally make traveling to places like Celadon very tricky. But luckily there's a short cut connecting Pewter with Vermillion City. It's called the Diglett Tunnel, and while it's a little lengthy, it's more or less a straight shot through, and allows you to bypass quite a few cities and mountains, as well as a few caves."

"Okay," Ashe said, nodding along as the woman continued.

"From there, most people would use a flying-type. But there is an old road there that, while nobody uses it, is still very well maintained. It's a little longer than the usual routes, and certainly not as straightforward. But it will get you straight to Celadon with very little time wasted. You'll make it just in time for the plane… Though you will miss Saffron City entirely."

"Oh?" That was perfect in Ashe's eyes. Maybe a little too perfect, but it would work for her. Missing Saffron City entirely would be great in fact, considering that that was where her grandparents lived, and the less chance she had of running into them, the better off she'd be in the long run.

"Now that is a lot to remember for anybody, so I had this set-up so you wouldn't get easily lost. It's no town map, but it'll help you I'm sure."

"Thanks so much!" The nurse laughed a little at Ashe's apparent joy, handing her the map in question as she took the tired pikachu off of her hands.

"Now I'll be right back with your pikachu, and then you can be on your way."

"Okay."

* * *

A/N. So a little longer than the previous chapter, though maybe a little rushed… Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading. See ya!


	6. Explosions and Surges

A/N. So things are probably looking a little shifty right now… I promise nothing bad has happened, it's just that some new (but still very good) things came up that may or may not be screwing with layout of my documents. I've hopefully fixed all the issues. But still no promises, so if something glaringly wrong pops up be sure to tell me so I can fix it.

**Disclaimer: Still don't own pokémon. If I did, Ash would probably have been turned into a pokémon, again, and for a lot longer than an episode and twenty seconds.**

* * *

**EP 6: Explosions and Surges**

* * *

A week later had found Ashe sitting quite pretty in a tiny café so far out of the way, she'd practically missed it slinking through alleys and avoiding the police like they had contracted the plague. It was a rather quaint little place to be honest, though it did take getting lost a few times before one would probably ever find it in the maze that was the back alleys and side roads of Vermillion City. The ocean breeze certainly wasn't doing any harm, and if Ashe had the choice or option to do so, she'd probably be perfectly content to stay there for quite a while.

It certainly didn't do any harm that the owners were pokémon friendly and allowed for a trainer to let their companions out of their pokéballs, provided they behaved themselves and didn't destroy anything should a battle inevitably break out. Something that was apparently far more common an occurrence than Ashe would've originally been led to believe, but was frequent considering that a lot of their customers consisted of some of the more famous and well-known trainers who didn't actually like being in the spotlight of the paparazzi for any specific amount of time, or really at all if they could help it.

Long standing trainers such as the mysterious enigma that was Red Enigus, a slightly foreign boy she could faintly remember talking to when she was a little girl, despite the grand age difference of five whole years. If she did remember correctly, which was entirely up in the wind considering the amount of time since they'd last had anything remotely resembling a conversation, said trainer had been friends, or maybe rivals, or even some obscure combination of the two with Gary's even more pretentiously cocky older brother, Blue. She still wasn't entirely sure what made the now eighteen year old such an enigma, other than maybe the prevalent muteness that had plagued the then boy for as long as she'd known him.

But she didn't think anybody, even the boy's own mother, had heard him even utter a sound since he'd been born. The other townsfolk had certainly made it seem as such, but then again, they liked to exaggerate quite a few things, and when left to their own devices, could blow certain matters far out of proportion.

She was digressing though, and it seemed her own pokémon were fully aware of it, considering both Sparkler and Sid were giving her that look she only ever got the few seconds before they started some form of chaos that could and would potentially get them involved with the local law-enforcement to some increasingly vague degree.

"Don't even think about it, food for you guys is free." Was her only warning as she glared her two troublemakers into submission, or what little of it she could before karma deigned to intervene in all their lives and have the ball of never-ending energy that was Bow bowl the two over and, after leaving the two in a rather helpless heap, inhale the last few cups of food the two had left uneaten in the little dishes the café had so kindly provided.

"Pika!"

"Char char!" the two pokémon objected to the eevee's unashamed gluttony, far too late as everything disappeared in the little creature's maw. Ashe stared, blinking dazedly for a moment, before she burst into laughter and rather unhelpfully pointed at the fire-type and electric-type's pitiable expressions. "Oh Arceus! I couldn't have planned that better if I tried!" She'd gasped out, tears in her eyes as pouts transformed into what had to be the most affronted look Ashe had ever seen on anyone's face, pokémon or otherwise. "Ah, c'mon you two. There's no need for that!" She soothed, giving the eevee an affectionate pat on the head before waving one of the waiters down to order the two another bowl.

Hopefully, they wouldn't lose this serving to the resident black hole like the last five.

"Sorry, Bow is…"

"Don't worry, we've had worse." The nameless man soothed, smiling rather reassuringly at the three tiny pokémon. Ashe wasn't actually liable to believe the man, but considering what their typical clientele actually consisted of… "You're little eevee might eat more than its fair share, but at least it's no munchlax… or worse."

"Such as?"

"Where do you think snorlax come from?"

"Oh." It was really that simple to be honest. She'd seen snorlax before, and in fact, unless she was wrong, her father actually owned one. She had no clue where the man had actually caught one though, but it had been quite the glutton from what she'd seen of it. More than capable of eating its own weight in food, and now that she really thought on the matter, it probably ate at least five times that. Or maybe that had just been what her mother had been willing to sacrifice to the endless abyss that was the sturdy normal-type's appetite.

In comparison, her eevee probably wasn't nearly so bad.

The three pokémon chittered away in thanks once their food arrived, and Ashe couldn't help the small smile that crossed her lips as she watched them eat their meals.

"Y'know Bow, you keep this up, and I'm gonna have to put you on a diet or something…" She said, watching as said normal-type sighed out in content, before darting off again to bother another customer's rock-type pokémon. She still wasn't sure what exactly was the cause for the eevee's apparent fascination with said species, but the little guy seemed dead set on conversing with every boulder or rock that crossed their paths, regardless of whether it was actually alive or not. Maybe it wished it was a rock-type.

Or maybe her eevee was just crazy, she wasn't really about to question it. Considering her human friends had far stranger habits and quirks than an apparent preference for rocks when it came to intelligent conversation.

"Ah, Red!" And suddenly Ashe wasn't so eager to watch her pokémon enjoy themselves.

"Shit!" she whispered harshly, rapidly recalling both her wayward eevee and Sid, before all but snatching her hat up from the table and bolting from her seat. She quickly apologized to the trainer who owned the pokémon Bow had been talking to, and even gave said pokémon a pat on the head to show that no hard feelings had been meant, before clumsily rushing out the doors and into the street. It was probably only luck that had her slapping just the right amount of money to pay for her own food, rather than being chased down by the owners or a waiter for not paying, but that same luck hadn't carried over to everything unfortunately, and by sheer happenstance she managed to bump into the trainer on her way out.

Of course, there was the high chance that the trainer entering the establishment wasn't actually the same boy she'd grown up with in Pallet Town, whose own father had been just as absent as her own. And there was an even smaller chance that he'd actually recognize or even remember the little four year old who'd bothered him non-stop when he'd first caught her eyes, even if it was in fact the same young man.

She still wasn't going to take those chances.

"S-Sorry!" She apologized quickly, Sparkler all but rushing to her shoulder, as she avoided making eye contact.

Ashe might've actually made it out of there too, had Red not been so damn observing. Because apparently, even if he hadn't seen her for a little over eight, maybe even nine years, he'd apparently still recognize her. The master grabbed her arm, waving some kind of apology at the owners, before bodily dragging her out of the store front and further down the alley. _'I'm screwed, I am so fucking screwed!' _she chanted in her head, wiggling slightly to try and break free from his rather tight grip.

Finally they came to a stop, the noise and general buzz of the city long gone and somehow muffled through sheer distance, though considering that they were still very much in it left her wondering in surprise. Or would've, if she wasn't currently trying not to pass out from a heart attack.

"What?" She was stunned, or surprised, the surprisingly deep voice, the stern tone, all leaving her in shock and unable to conjure up a proper response.

"Hah?" Was the intelligent response that eventually left her lips as she eyed Red from under the brim of her hat. The young man huffed in response, arms crossing over his chest for a moment as a frown crossed his expression, before he all but snatched her hat from atop her head, glaring her full on in the eyes. It struck her then, amidst the utter dread filling her entire being and the shock, just how _red_ Red's eyes actually were, like freshly spilled blood, or something equally dramatic.

"What. Are. You. Doing?"

"Uh…" He sighed again, obviously losing patience with the younger trainer before him. _'And to think I probably could've avoided all this if I'd just stayed put instead of freaking out and running.'_ The idea was foreign and novel really, but it was painfully true. And Ashe recognize that as she eyed the trainer before her, contemplating her own chances of escape now that she'd been seen by someone that recognized her. _'I can't…'_

"…"

"I still have no clue what that expression means!" She blurted out suddenly, thoughts coming to a complete halt at the sudden, visible shift in Red's expression. He frowned, before grabbing ahold of her wrist and turning around.

"I'm calling Mrs. Ketchum…"

"What?"

"There's no way…"

"N-no…I-!" _'Can't get caught… Can't get caught! No, no, no, nononononononononoNO!'_

"Ashlyn?"

'_Not going…'_

"Ashe!"

"I'm not going back."Final, there was something very final in her tone. There must've been, because instead of complete confidence there was a sudden sense of anxiety, of this unknown tenseness in Red's stance.

This wasn't the little girl Red had watched when he was younger and alone. When his only friends had been his own thoughts and the boy who lived with the most famous man on the planet. This wasn't that little girl who'd been forbidden from going on a pokémon journey, _'And what an idea that had been, considering that she couldn't keep herself out of trouble to save her life.'_

It was the only warning anyone that would've and could've gotten dragged into the chaos received. Right before the entire alleyway went up in smoke and fire, and what Red and Ashe both would've considered brimstone.

It was also the only chance Ashe had to get away. And she took it, without any hesitation, without a single doubt or moment of pause. She did what she'd probably always done, whether fully aware of it or not, she'd taken whatever chance she'd been given at the time, clung to it with all her might and rolled with the punches as they came. Without even giving herself the chance to breath, Ashe took off down the alleyway at nothing less than a dead sprint, recalling the fire-type she hadn't even realized she'd sent out, and disappearing as the nearby streets descended into panic at the suddenly out-of-control fire spreading through several very abandoned, and clearly old buildings.

"Shit, shit, shit!" She swore, ducking into one of the aforementioned structures, somehow managing to weave around a fallen beam, before ducking through a collapsed doorway. She coughed into the smoke, wheezed slightly for the air she couldn't get from running too hard in a low oxygen environment, and didn't stop for even a second. Not even when a policeman tried to stop her.

* * *

Ashe finally stopped as she slammed, rather bodily at that, into what could only be described as a brick wall.

She yipped in shock, dazed as she was and fully prepared for her unexpected landing to hurt, only to be caught by a very solid, much larger hand.

"Woah there, kid." Said brick wall chuckled, pulling the thirteen year old to her feet rather suddenly, and causing her to teeter slightly as she blinked away the panic and confusion. She had no clue where she was now, though she knew it had to be somewhere in Vermillion City still. The buildings looked far too familiar to be anything but, but the man before her definitely didn't strike the same chords.

"W-who…?"

"Hey, it's okay. The name's Surge, Lt. Surge if you knew me at least, what? Ten years ago? Anyways, I'm the gym leader 'round these parts."

"Ah?"

"Heh, I know that look. Don't worry, Kid. Just breathe, nice and easy, okay?" Ashe nodded dumbly, eyes maybe a little too focused on the man's bright, blonde hair and camo-jacket and pants.

"Ah-huh…" She agreed, mind far too busy and cluttered and much too rattled to keep up with what he was saying. Her heart was thudding too loudly in her ears anyways, and she was starting to feel very light headed. Not to mention the strange, fire-like lights that were flickering in and out of her increasingly blurry vision.

"Like I said, breath. In…" He waited, pushing and prodding until her body complied with his demands. "Good, now out." Again with the insistent tone, and surprisingly steadying hand as her body again did as instructed. They stood there, in the sudden silence, with smoke rising in the air some streets away and sirens blaring off in the distance, Surge coaching her through the strange emotions into a sense of numbness that left her on a far better level of functioning.

* * *

"A human doctor would call it something fancy that no one who speaks a lick of plain English would understand. I call it shock." Ashe nodded her head along to the man, Surge's, explanation, breathing in and out slowly as he placed a warm cup of what might've been tea in still trembling hands. She took a careful sip, blowing slightly at the steam, before just as gently setting the cup down. "It happens, in high stress situations like that. You saw something unpleasant, you're body reacted. Maybe even overreacted. Either way, you made like someone relatively smart, and got the fuck out of there before you could get hurt."

"R-really?" She questioned nervously, facial expression screwing up, she eyed the table contemplatively.

Sparkler rested at her side, a constant warmth and source of comfort as she listened to the explanation, or rather tried to. Its ear twitched slightly at every little move and words anyone made or said, and she had a feeling that that might've been her fault.

"Yep… Though I have to admit, I'm a little curious. I've met Red myself. Doesn't talk… like at all, but still never would've pegged him as a threat to anyone…?"

"He's not!" Ashe rushed to say, face turning red at the smirk the older man gave her. "He… Red may be a little strange, yeah, but he's no threat… Or at least… He wasn't when we were kids…"

"So what _is _the deal between the two of you anyways?" Surge questioned, dropping into one of the armchairs across from her.

Ashe paused in thought, taking a few seconds to really take in her surroundings, before she actually tried to answer that question.

For a gym leader, Surge's living room was actually pretty dull. Everything was so neat and tidy, not at all how she expected most people to live. Even her own grandparents, as neat and tidy as they had been, had left some clutter around. Lt. Surge's home however, seemed to have had any personal items that would've given it any degree of personality sandblasted off.

"I…" She finally began, fingers slightly nervous as she eyed the room some more. It seemed very telling to her that he'd left the front door wide open like he had. Though she wasn't entirely sure what that was telling her exactly. "Red and I, we… You probably know this already… But Red was born in Pallet Town."

"Yeah, who doesn't. The boy's famous enough."

"Well, we grew up together. Kind of."

"Kind of?"

"We… Or Red, was, had always been older than me, like way older… At first I hadn't even noticed he existed. He was friends with Blue, Gary Oak's older brother and…"

"You were friends with this Gary…"

"Yeah, kind of. But that's not how we met… I just… One day he was sitting there. Not doing anything wrong, but just sitting there and I…" Ashe huffed, suddenly very frustrated with herself. She'd never had so much difficulty talking about anything in her life before. And Red wasn't even that personal. Was she really so shaken by what had happened. "He looked, not lonely just… Anyways, I saw him, and I just started talking to him and he… He listened. Though now that I think about it, he probably was only doing it to be nice. I was really little back then, and he was like five years old than me."

"I see."

"We aren't friends…"

"Sounds like you're close enough to it."

"Maybe, I haven't seen him in a long time." She said finally, curling up slightly in the armchair, eyes strangely focused on the fire burning in the fire place.

"That still doesn't explain though, why exactly you all but set an entire street on fire." Ashe's actually jumped at that, and looked at the supposed gym leader in shock. "Hey now, I'm not about to sell you out to the police or anything. I just want the truth."

"…"

"So, do you think you can give me that?" He asked, giving Ashe this strange look, as if he was trying to see into her, or maybe even through her. She found herself, unwilling or not, nodding her head and agreeing with the man.

"I didn't mean to honest… I just… I panicked, I think?" She didn't sound very sure of herself, even to her own ears.

"Looked like it from my perspective."

"Yeah, well… I just.. He was going to call my mother, and I didn't want him to call her because… because…" _'Because I'm running away, and I'm no longer sure I could stop if I wanted to. Because I like being free and going wherever I want to and doing what I want to without someone trying to stop me. And Red was trying to stop me.'_

"You ran away, didn't you?"

"Yeah…" Ashe finally admitted, giving the man such a strange look it was practically jarring. It must've been, considering the slightly jumpy look he gave her. He probably thought she was going to blow up his house too, considering the damage she'd probably done to that street. She wasn't even ready to think about all the innocent people she might've hurt in the process. What she might've done to Red. She wouldn't though, she didn't think she or Sid had it in either of them to do it.

And besides, she didn't feel like running anymore today anyways.

Or at least, not for that specific reason.

"So Red threatened to send you back, that sent you into a panic, and you reacted the only way you could in that moment."

"Yeah…"

"Well, then it's probably a damn good thing you're little firecracker's so weak."

"What?"

"You seem to think that that little fire starter can do a whole lot of damage. And maybe it can, but you haven't been training it enough to do so. It's still too weak to cause a lot of damage. A few houses took a bit of a burning, but really no one was livin' in 'em anyways, and they were set up for demolition next month."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"But what about Red? And the screaming and the people?" Surge seemed to laugh at her apparent worry, and it caused Ashe to recoil in a way, Ashe hadn't expected.

"Kid, Red's fine. Even if you did manage to hurt the guy, he's impossible to keep down. And besides, last I checked no one could get the drop on him. He's escaped completely unscathed. And there weren't any civilians within a good mile at least of that area. Like I said before, everything was set up for demolition in the first place. The buildings were too dangerous to be kept up, so it was off limits to the public as a whole."

"R-really?"

"Yep." She wasn't sure what made her believe the man so readily, but she could feel her whole entire body relax at the news.

It was very likely that Surge was lying to her, in order to make her feel better, or less guilty, but something in her told her he wasn't. That he was telling her the truth, nothing withheld, no lies, just facts.

She wasn't sure as to what it was, but it hadn't led her wrong so far.

She would've been smiling too, maybe, had something else not hit her suddenly.

"You're going to send me home, aren't you?" She questioned the man, tone suddenly resentful and a horrendous pout on her face.

And the man actually laughed at her, laughed as if it was funny, the very idea so silly, so ridiculous that it was a joke. She almost started to laugh too.

"No, shit no. It ain't my place to go dragging brats back to their mothers. It's certainly not what they pay me to do."

"Wh-? Really? But aren't you a gym leader?"

"Yeah, a gym leader. Not the police. Dealing with renegade brats is their job, not mine. And besides, from what I've seen, you're nowhere near able or ready to confront your mom."

"Oh…" Considering what she'd done when Red had threatened to call the woman, Ashe couldn't really argue with that. "So what now?"

"What now? Well, what were you planning on doing?"

"Not staying in Kanto if that is what you mean."

"Not staying?"

"No, because that would be stupid."

"Oh? And where do you think you were going?"

"I was going to catch a plane to Kalos, in Celadon City… It was going to be Unova, probably, but the boat's been cancelled so…"

"Ah I see, that leaves in a couple of weeks, doesn't it?" Ashe shrugged non-commitally at that question, having lost track of time. At most, she could say that a week had passed, but that was it. "Well, then, you're probably a little ahead of schedule."

"I am?"

"Yeah, Celadon is really close by, even relatively speaking, you could probably cut through the forest north-west of town and make it there in a little under a couple of days."

"Oh…"

"So since you got time to kill apparently, how about you stick with me for a bit?"

"Huh?"

"Kid, at the level you're pokémon are at, you ain't going to survive a day out in that world. I'm actually shocked you've made it so far as you and your pokémon are right now."

"So what?"

"So what? So let me train you. Let me put it like this. We get those pokémon up to snuff, and if they are able to beat at least one of my pokémon in a battle by Wednesday, I'll even pay for that ticket to Kalos."

"And if not?"

"Then we keep training. Just because the boats cancelled, doesn't mean you're completely out of options. There are ways to get out of the region. You just have to look for 'em."

Ashe thought it over for a moment, before finally, hesitantly nodding her head. She couldn't find a downside to Surge's offer, and pros seemed to only make the deal just that bit sweeter. But still… There was something Surge wasn't telling her.

"Why?"

"Hm?"

"Why are you helping me?"

"Honestly Kid?"

"Yeah…"

"Because I was just like you once."

* * *

"By the way, why do you call your pikachu 'Sparkler'?"

"Because there's this spark in its eyes, see?"

"It? You do realize that all of your pokémon have a gender, right?"

"Yeah… I just don't know what those are."

"Arceus! You don't know that your pikachu is a boy?"

"Sparkler is?"

"Yes!"

"Oh."

"Arceus Kid."

"Quit calling me 'Kid'!"

* * *

A/N. So what did you guys think? I actually wasn't planning on anything from the game showing up in this. But then the chapter took on a life of its own, and low and behold. Red and Blue both make appearances. I don't know if they'll ever show up again, or if any of the characters from the games or mangas will.

And for those of you who like Red, don't worry. It's just as Surge said. It's gonna take a lot more than a little charmander's slightly powerful embers to put even dent in that boy. He's perfectly fine. Maybe a little shocked at Ashe's outburst, but fine.

Anyways, please leave a review and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. See ya!


	7. Don't Call Me Kid

A/N. So I'd like to thank everyone in advance who had suggestions for my littles (more than six pokémon) dilemma. You all had such great ideas, and they really helped a lot with solving the problem. As for the pokémon thing, I'm still thinking on which ones to use, since I'm trying to give Ashe a relatively balanced team, but I do have some spots taken already. I've decided that Ashe will be carrying eight pokémon on hand, (because that seems relatively reasonable) and may eventually catch more, but probably not for a good while. So counting Bow, Sid, and Sparkler (who will be referred to by a different nickname from here on out. Sorry for those who were particularly fond of the name.), and the one pokémon that I know will definitely be on the team without a doubt, that leaves four more free spots that are still open for suggestions.

Remember though, these are suggestions and there is no poll, so it's entirely possible that I will pick pokémon that no one even so much as mentioned.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoy the chapter and thanks for reading!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

* * *

**EP 7: Don't Call me Kid!**

* * *

Surge hadn't lied when he'd told her that Red was perfectly fine and that she hadn't caused nearly as much damage as she'd apparently let herself believe. Not that the little charmander she'd called out was anything particularly to sniff at, but Red had had the kid beat by miles.

Yeah, the charmander on its own might've burnt a house down, maybe two if it'd been given the chance before the kid had high-tailed it rather smartly out of there. But it was Red's damn charizard that had done the worst.

It was a monster of a fully evolved pokémon, and really one had to wonder where in the world he'd gotten such a beast. But while Ashe's charmander might've been a potential fire hazard waiting to happen, Red's own, famous starter pokémon was a nuclear bomb by comparison.

And Surge still couldn't figure out why Red had called it out. Yeah getting slightly burned by a startled fire-type wasn't any fun, but calling out the boy's charizard had just made the situation worse. What would've just been a collapsed building turned into an entire street being set ablaze, and rather violently at that. But by the time the smoke had cleared and panic had fully set in, both trainers were long gone.

Or would've been, had Surge not somehow managed to track down the wayward trainer that had actually had the gall to pull a pokéball on the famous Red, champion of Kanto.

It was that apparent gall that had caused Surge to take the kid under his wing, and teach her the ropes. The ins and outs of a pokémon battle could be tricky to master for anyone, and a week later had found the kid all but flourishing in the admittedly high stress environment.

More than flourishing actually, she was living and thriving, and from what he could tell, loving every second of it.

But he was digressing now, and probably rather painfully, considering the rather nasty look his raichu was giving him as said kid took the wide opening he'd given her to bat his magneton across the battlefield like a ragdoll.

"Whoops?" He'd offered placatingly, but the giant mouse simply rolled his eyes at him, and darted off to try and goad his younger counterpart into an electric brawl of sorts. "Okay Kid, let's try this again, from the top."

"For the last time, my name's not Kid!" Said child called from across the battlefield before swinging her arm out in front of her. "Bow, use Swift!" The eevee in question chirped in confirmation before suddenly bounding forward in what was probably actually a takedown of sorts, before it seemed to trip over its own front paws, roll across the dirt and then suddenly bounce up at the last second, straight over his magneton.

Said pokémon wasn't nearly as fast as most of the others, and was quickly overtaken by the brilliant normal-type attack spewing from the eevee's mouth. It plinked rather uselessly off of the dual-types body, due to type resistance, but it left the pokémon dazed enough for the eevee to burrow into the relative safety of the ground with a well-timed Dig.

Surge wasn't about to let the little spaz escape though.

"Magneton, Signal Beam the ground, let's see if we can't flush her out!" Surge ordered then, watching as the ground suddenly erupted in a brilliant light show that left everyone slightly dazed, rocks flying everywhere.

"Bow!" Said eevee didn't even looked a little panicked as she hopped and bounced her way to relative safety. There was scratches and bruises to be sure, everything that would've honestly warranted a trip to the pokémon center by anyone's standards, but the little normal-type apparently had a very high pain tolerance, because she never seemed all that bothered by any of her injuries.

"Oh Mew!"

"Shit, Raichu!" Both trainers called out suddenly as the two electric mice tumbled haphazardly into the fray. Bow squealed in joy at the sight for some odd reason that completely escaped the gym leader, and it was honestly the only one anyone got before it completely dismissed the battle as a whole and jumped into the sparking tangle that was Sparks and Raichu.

Sparks now, because to the kid, his old name hadn't fit as well anymore once she'd realized that the little pikachu was a guy and not a girl, or an it.

"Okay, kid, time for group tactics!" Surge cried out, grinning as he did what he'd always done best. Rolling with the punches as they came and making the best of a situation, no matter how bad it probably actually was. "Raichu, use Thuderbolt! Magneton, Magnet Rise!"

"Bow, Sparks, straighten out! Sparks, counter with an Iron Tail, Bow, see if we can't daze it a little!" The three pokémon jumped apart from their little growlithe pile, the two mice sparking with electricity as Raichu released the ordered attack. It missed its mark though and lost quite a bit of power, as the attack was redirected to the now very metal tail of his younger counterpart.

Bow took the chance the redirection offered her, and immediately bounded forward, headlong and straight into the dual-type that had been her earlier opponent. She downed it relatively easily, and the poor creature was left dazed and dizzy on the ground at the sudden burst of pain.

Normal-type attacks might not've been very effective against a steel-type like his magneton, but timed just right and they had the potential to hurt quite a lot. It was enough, anyways, as the kid took advantage of the delay both pokémon were now experiencing.

"Okay Sparks, power through! Quick attack with an Iron Tail! Bow, let's see if that Magnet Rise was any good, use Dig!" Both pokémon chirped in response, one disappearing into the ground while the other burst through the dust the ground-type attack kicked up, clearing the expanse of the battlefield in very little time, tail shining with the energy typically found coursing through any proper steel-type pokémon.

"Raichu, stand tall! Magneton, shake it off and get out of there." Raichu easily withstood the full brunt that was the little pikachu's assault, but then he somehow rolled his weight passed the older mouse and went straight for the still dazed magneton currently lying helplessly on the ground. "Shit! Magneton!"

Said pokémon blinked in dazed shock as it quickly rose from the ground, only to float straight into the oncoming mouse's attack. It slammed into the ground as the tail came around, and before it could so much as groan at the attack, it was sent flying once again as the little eevee suddenly came bursting forth from the ground below, spewing rocks and dust into the air and giving both pokémon proper cover as they disappeared in the debris.

"Rai-rai!" The fully evolved mouse growled, tail flicking in frustration at not being able to see his opponents. His eyes narrowed at the bellowing cloud of smoke, cheeks sparking but knowing far better to charge into what he couldn't see.

Everything was silent for a few moments, batted breath still in the air as the smoke finally cleared to reveal his magneton out and down for the count, while kid's pikachu and eevee were roughed up but otherwise still conscious.

"Well, I'll be damned!" Surge called out with a laugh, recalling the clearly defeated dual-type to its pokéball for a rest.

"I-I did it?" The kid questioned clearly shocked.

"Yeah, you did it kid. You beat one of my pokémon. And a bit earlier than I expected." There was this manic, excited grin on the kid's face now, as she started laughing too, running over to her pokémon to hug and congratulate the both of them on their little feat.

They'd actually beaten a gym leader's pokémon. They were strong enough now.

"Now don't go getting so cocky or comfortable, Kid. I may not be the weakest gym leader around, but I'm certainly not the strongest." He warned walking over to give his raichu a good scratch behind the ears for his help.

"Oh…" She seemed to pout at that, but Surge didn't call her out on it, instead continuing with his little speech.

"You're gonna have to keep training and getting stronger, but I have no doubt you'll get pretty far. You do seem to have this flare for battle." The kid chuckled nervously at that. "Now I believe I promised that I'd pay for you to get on that plane to Kalos, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, here." And he watched with the kind of amusement only father's probably ever experienced as he pinned the Thunder Badge on the girl's shirt.

"W-What? But that's-?"

"The Thunder Badge, and your ticket to getting on that plane. Keep that on you, and they won't question you when you get on board. And if they do, you tell them they can bring it up with me." Surge assured as he ruffled the kid's hair and sent her to the room he'd loaned her inside the gym.

She was technically registered still as one of at least twelve trainers currently under his tutelage in Vermillion City. So nobody had asked any questions seeing her around the gym with her pokémon, despite the fact that she only had a single electric-type to her name. The others had known better than to question them anyways, since they were all of varying questionable backgrounds themselves, and Surge apparently had a habit of taking in strays.

"Now go get your pokémon healed up, pack up your stuff and get ready. That plan leaves in tomorrow next week."

"Got it!"

"And hey Kid!"

"What?"

"Good luck!"

"Save that for tomorrow! And quit calling me 'Kid'!"

* * *

A/N. Another short chapter, but considering that this was supposed to be entirely from Lt. Surge's point of view, I'm perfectly okay with that. I like Lt. Surge to be honest, he's a cool character, and I like to think he's a lot nicer than he actually comes across as in the anime. It's just that we don't see any of him after the one episode, and I kind of wish we had. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed reading the chapter, thanks for reading, and please leave a review! See ya!


	8. Of Ghosts and Battles

A/N. So here's the next chapter!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**EP 8: Of Ghosts and Battles**

* * *

Surrounded by lush forests with skyscrapers as far as the eye could apparently see, Celadon City had been a far cry from either Pewter or Vermillion City. Though considering what the local gym leader apparently specialized in, Ashe had guessed that it could be relatively normal.

Pewter had been nothing but rocky, mountainous terrain, and Vermillion had been a port city erring on the side of technological advances rivaling Saffron City. With a grass-type gym leader, she guessed that it was only par the course that it seemed so verdant.

It certainly had Sparks completely enthralled in its apparent beauty.

"Pika…" The awed electric-type cooed, brown eyes taking in the sights with a childish wonder that Ashe probably wouldn't ever be able to match. Though once they landed in Kalos, it was entirely plausible that they'd both be gaping rather stupidly at the sights if her father's stories were to be believed.

Supposedly, nothing found in Kanto could compare to the wonders that such a far-away region held.

"Well, it's official. We've made it Celadon Sparks. Now all we need is to get to wait a couple of days and we'll be scot free." She informed the little mouse as he took their momentary pause to hop down from her shoulder. Little paws padded faintly against the concrete and brick, and he turned to face her for a few seconds with probably the most contemplative look she'd seen on the pokémon to date.

"Pika, pikachu, chu-pika Pikapi." He chittered at her, watching as she blinked down at him only to burst into giggles without warning.

"Hold up, are you asking me why I want to leave Kanto?" Sparks nodded, eyes not nearly as amused as his trainer's.

"Pika."

"After all this time? After how many weeks in?"

"Pika."

"Arceus, you sure have some strange timing." Ashe finally chuckled out, bending down so she was eye-level with the electric-type. "C'mon, let's go find the pokémon center, and then we'll talk, okay?"

"Pika-pikachu." The mouse chittered in agreement, before hopping back onto her shoulder.

"So, we've got a couple of days to kill before that plane takes off. You want to know why we're going to Kalos."

"Pika."

"Well, it's simple really. We can't stay in Kanto. And the farther we get from Pallet Town, the less likely we are to get caught. Any region would've done, save for maybe Johto. But as far as I can tell, Kalos is probably the farthest from Kanto. See?" She explained, hands moving slightly with every word.

"Pika, pika pi-chu?"

"If we stay in Kanto, we'll get caught. Information might travel slow, but eventually somebody'll spot us, maybe even someone who knows me. And we can't have that."

"Pika."

"Yep, so that's why we're leaving."

"Now that is fascinating." Ashe flinched slightly, turning around rapidly to face the speaker, only to blink when she realized she didn't recognize the person before her.

Literally, there wasn't anything familiar about the young man who was so strangely fascinated with her. Pale blonde hair and pinkish, red eyes struck her as a slightly more unusual sight than normal, but otherwise he was as much a stranger to her as any other random person she would've met just walking down the street.

Just as nameless and faceless.

"Uh?"

"Ah, my apologies," the young man bowed, a large flourishing motion that had his arm swinging out and around his body before tucking in against his chest. The pose in general reminded Ashe a little of a butler. Overly dramatic as it was though, the desired effect was lost on her, and she was left very unimpressed.

Or maybe that was just that voice in her head that demanded practicality and was starting to sound far too much like a certain gym leader from Vermillion City.

"The name's Leon." The potentially thirteen year old introduced, giving her what she assumed was his best winning smile. "Fourteen, Lavender Town resident, and ghost-type extraordinaire. Or that is what I hope to be."

"Ok… Why ghost-types?" Ashe questioned, tone dry, as an eyebrow quirked up.

Leon grinned at that, eyes sparkling with something akin to excitement. "Why, my fine lady, why not! Ghost-types are a marvelous species! The mystery, their ethereal beauty! How could one not find them utterly fascinating?"

"I've never seen a ghost-type before." He gasped then, sounding rightfully affronted, as if Ashe had committed some kind of crime by admitting that she had no clue what a ghost-type even was.

She had a bit of an idea, considering what these apparent species of pokémon were called, but beyond that she was clueless. Lt. Surge had had many species under his belt, and had allowed her to borrow quite a few during training. There'd been many different kinds ranging from the rare psychic-type that the gym leader in Saffron supposedly specialized in, to the never seen dark-types that apparently didn't exist in Kanto, but could be found in other regions. Ghost-types had not been amongst them though, possibly because of how tricky they could be to catch.

"My young friend," And since when in the world were they friends? "That is simply not acceptable! Everyone should experience the wonders that are ghost-type pokémon at least once in their lives. Why, even the great Elite Four, Agatha, specializes in them."

"You know, you're very… fruity," Ashe finally interrupted, seeing that this was probably going to take a very long time if the sheer enthusiasm she could see in his eyes was anything to go by. He seemed to be all but in love with these pokémon, whatever they were. "So you were fascinated by something?"

"Hmm? Ah, yes. It's just… I've never seen a trainer just talk with their pokémon like that."

"Oh… Well, to be honest, I have no clue what Sparks is saying. But I think I'm getting the hang of it… I think."

"You think? And you had me perfectly fooled. It seemed as if you could fully understand your pikachu."

"Really?"

"Yes, in fact, it seems that your pikachu is very well cared for. Quite amazing really," He drifted off, humming slightly as he surveyed the little electric-type in question, before finally standing up to his full height again. "I've decided."

"Decided what?" Ashe asked, now very wary of the boy.

"We're going to battle. Or rather, I would like to have a battle with you."

"Why?"

"Because, I want to see what your other pokémon are like, and you yourself have never seen a ghost-type before. It'd certainly be a learning experience for the both of us, I'm sure." Leon explained, a strange, almost challenging glint in his eyes.

She realized than, exactly what the boy was doing. Challenging her, more than challenging her, he was daring her to say no. To back out.

Ashe might've been a little impressed by that.

"You're on!"

"Splendid!" _'And there he goes again with the fruity talk.'_

* * *

As it turned out, much to Ashe's rather belated surprise, most pokémon centers were actually equipped with a battlefield of some sort, often multiple ones at that. It was apparently free to use, and was clearly for trainers who wanted to get a little practice in before any major gym battles or similar events. The one sitting behind Celadon's pokémon center though, was very well used.

There were craters in the ground the maintenance teams had never bothered to fully fill in, shattered debris from powerful attacks that had drilled into the nearby terrain, and even a couple knocked over trees from large pokémon barreling into or even being thrown at the nearby forest. And that was just ignoring all the burn marks from electric and fire-type attacks.

"So how many pokémon do you have on you?" Leon questioned suddenly, pulling Ashe rather suddenly from her thoughts as her head whipped up to stare him down.

"Including Sparks?"

"Yes."

"Three."

"So few? But why, you must've traveled very far, yes?"

"Yeah, but I just never found the need to catch any more." She hadn't actually captured any wild pokémon at all, since she'd left Pallet. But he didn't need to know that, and Ashe wasn't about to admit to it either.

She'd gotten by just fine with Sid, Bow, and Sparks. And besides, who was to say that it wouldn't lead the authorities straight to her if she were to capture a pokémon while still in Kanto. Prof. Oak was probably still unaware of her thievery, and even if he had caught on, there was no direct way to find her through that.

Or so she hoped at the very least. There was no telling on whether the pokédex could be used to track her down or not, but that was why she made sure not to use it as much as she probably could've. It probably could, but from what she could remember, it was a very vague thing, and so long as no one asked for any form of ID, and she avoided catching pokémon, Prof. Oak wouldn't know where she was.

No one would, beyond maybe the nurses she'd come across in her travels and Red. Lt. Surge would've probably been on that list too, had he not already more than proven that he wouldn't sell her out to anyone that could bring her home.

He had too many strays under his care anyways, and that wasn't even taking into consideration which ones were probably missed by their families, and which ones weren't. Calling the authorities on one, would draw attention to all the others, and from what she'd been able to tell, they were all far too attached to each other to risk it.

They were far too attached to her, and maybe she was to them as well.

She was letting herself get distracted though, and Leon was apparently telling her something that might've been relatively important to their battle.

"You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?"

"Nope!" Ashe admitted rather unashamedly, and the boy sighed slightly in response.

"Well, never mind, I guess it wasn't all that important in the first place." He gave in, before straightening himself out, "The battle will be a three-on-three then, no switch outs. One side wins when the other no longer has any pokémon to battle with, and… Just to spice things up a little, whenever one of us knocks out the other's pokémon, we both switch to a new one." He explained, moving to stand in one of the boxed off areas that signified where a trainer was supposed to stand. "Agreeable?"

"Sure Fruity-Boy." Ashe called as she took her place as well, and Sparks snickered slightly in his own little pokémon way. Leon grimaced slightly at the nickname, looking rather affronted and more than a little confused.

"'Fruity-Boy'?" He questioned, only to receive a barking laughter from the younger trainer. "Oh dear, I can tell this is going to be rather interesting."

"Less talky, more action!" Ashe barked suddenly, and Sparks took the field with a slight bounce in his step.

"Pika!"

"As you would then," the other trainer consented, pulling out a strange looking pokéball that Ashe had never seen before. A finger easily pressed the button, enlarging the device, and Leon and held it out, "Dusky, be a dear and introduce yourself." He said, and the ball suddenly flashed open to reveal a strange, gray pokémon wearing what looked like a cartoony skull mask.

"Dusss-kull." The apparent ghost-type hissed slightly, the air around it seeming to chill as it floated in the air.

"Ok… So that's a ghost-type… What is it though?" Ashe questioned, eying the new pokémon warily.

"This, my dear new friend, is a duskull. A ghost-type hailing from the Hoenn Region. You won't find one in Kanto of course, but isn't she spectacular? Dusky's such a dear, lovely thing. Absolutely horrific to behold!" Now the boy was acting increasingly strange, and Ashe was feeling increasingly creeped out.

"Right…" Ashe agreed, body tilting slowly as she eyed Leon with a growing sense of discomfort. The boy was far too into this obviously, but then again, she probably should've expected this. Leon was apparently from Lavender Town, and if she remembered anything about that place, it was that it was supposed to be heavily haunted by all manner of spirits.

Including apparently, these ghost-types that Leon was so completely enthralled by.

"Now Dusky, let's start things off, shall we?" The trainer suggested, only to seem to pause in thought. "Ah, but where are my manners. Ladies first and all that."

"Ok, manners be damned, I'm gonna make you eat those words!" Ashe called out as the boy gave her a rather condescending look. "Sparks, let's start with a bang! Use Thunderbolt!" She ordered then, pointing at their floating opponent.

The duskull seemed unusually calm though, and its trainer even more so as the electric-type attack came spiraling towards it.

"Dusky, that does look like it would be rather unpleasant. Do be sure to evade, into the ground." He commanded, and the pokémon _disappeared_ into the earth.

"What the-!"

"Now, let's see if we can't slow it down a little. Use Will-o'-wisp!" He ordered again, and suddenly the ghost-type was behind Sparks, some strange, otherworldly flame hovering just in-front of it and aimed directly at the stunned mouse.

"Oh no you don't!" Ashe cried out, "Sparks, use Spark!" Ashe called out, watching as the little mouse suddenly lit up with electricity. The move was purely physical, and typically was a weaker variant of the most powerful move a pikachu and its evolutionary forms could learn apparently, Volt Tackle. The weakest in fact, if Surge was to be believed.

It still did what Ashe needed it to do.

"Duskull!" The pokémon hissed, flinching back at the bright show of lights and losing the concentration it had needed to keep the Will-o'-wisp attack going. Which also left it open to any attack of Ashe's choosing.

"Follow up with a Quick Attack!" Ashe ordered then, and Sparks chirped in agreement as he sped toward the ghost-type.

Leon smirked though, not seeming panicked at all, and Ashe quickly figured out why as Sparks went through the ghost-type pokémon.

"Wha-?"

"Didn't you know, my dear?" Leon said, hands sweeping out in another one of his grand gestures that Ashe found increasingly unnecessary. "Ghost-types are immune to any and all normal-type attacks."

"Really?"

"Yes, though unfortunately for you, I cannot say the same for your pikachu. Dusky, Shadow Ball!" The still stunned electric-type was too slow, and the attack hit with a resounding explosion as the ghost-type chuckled, having finally scored a hit on its faster opponent.

"Sparks!" Ashe called out, worry evident in her voice as she eyed the clearing smoke. The mouse stood tall still, but it was clear that the attack had taken quite a toll.

There were a few burn marks marring his yellow fur, and he was panting in clear exhaustion. But it was also very clear, Sparks wasn't going to lose this fight, not so easily.

"Impressive, my dear, truly impressive. I didn't expect the little one to still be standing." Ashe huffed at that, a strange smirk growing on her face as her eyes flashed strangely.

"You're gonna have to try a lot harder than that!" Ashe said, sweeping her own arm out. "Now, I think it's time for some payback!"

"PIKA!" the little mouse cried out.

"Quick attack!"

"My dear, I believe we've already made the discovery that that's not going to work!" Ashe simply smirked, watching as the pikachu slid through the ghost-type once again.

"Iron Tail!"

"What?" Leon stood, a satisfyingly shocked expression glued to his face as Sparks hit the ground on his front paws, small body twisting around in a smooth, practiced motion as his tail glowed with a familiar light.

"Pi-KA!" The electric-type cried out, tail slamming into the ghost-type with little warning, causing the duskull to fly across the field and crash into the side of the pokémon center.

"Why, my dear! That was positively beastly!" Leon said, looking rightfully surprised. His expression quickly dropped the shock though, in its place took on a look of utter joy. "Splendid!"

"Sparks, Thunderbolt!"

"Dusky, Dark Pulse!" The two attacks collided with a vengeance, kicking up dust and debris as the battling powers caved in and exploded in a cacophony of smoke and what might've been fire.

The smoke eventually cleared, showing both pokémon unconscious, eyes spinning and clearly not getting up any time soon. Dusky was returned to its pokéball, but Ashe wouldn't dare put Sparks through anything he didn't want to go through, and simply picked the tired electric-type up from his place on the ground.

"You did a great Sparks, now rest up, you deserve it." She soothed, petting the pokémon reassuringly on the head, before returning to her spot on the field.

"My dear, why don't you put it in its pokéball?"

"Because Sparks doesn't like being in his pokéball, so I'm not going to put him in it." She snapped at the boy, yanking off one of her pokéballs and tossing it smoothly into the air before catching it. "Show 'em what your made of, Bow!" Ashe called, and the little eevee manifested in a brilliant show of light and boundless amounts of energy, bouncing across the field with a happy chirp.

"A normal-type, huh?" Leon questioned, before picking another one of those strange pokéballs from his waist. "Alright then, Princess, show time!" He called out, and once again out appeared another strange pokémon.

"Ok?"

"This, my dear, is a frillish," Leon explained, hand resting on the jelly-like, pink head of the blue-eyed pokémon.

Another foreign pokémon from another distant region.

"A ghost-type?"

"But of course, but not just any ghost-type either. You see, Dusky was a pure ghost-type. Princess is something you're probably a little more familiar with. She's also a water-type."

"So a dual-type ghost pokémon…" Ashe swore silently in her head. A very unfavorable match-up, considering that normal-types couldn't effect ghost-type pokémon. Aside from Dig, and maybe Bite, Bow had no other attacks that might affect this new creature.

And it was part water, which meant it had the advantage over two of her pokémon. And Sparks was already out for the count.

"That's right! Now Princess, let's start things off with a little bang of our own!" Leon said, "Use Water Pulse!"

"Bow, look alive!" She warned, and the little eevee bounced into the air and right over the attack, let it splash rather harmlessly against the ground.

Sparks might've been her fastest pokémon, but Bow was by far her most agile, and she was going to take advantage of that as much as she could.

"Impressive, but not nearly enough! Stop its movements with Psychic!" And suddenly Bow wasn't so agile any more.

"Shit!"

"Now use Water Pulse again!"

"Vui!" The eevee wriggled and wiggled and writhed in their opponents hold, moving far too much for the dual-types already halved concentration for it get the proper energy built up for the move.

It was difficult, more than difficult, it was making it nearly impossible for that frillish to get one of those Water Pulse attacks off. And that was exactly what Ashe wanted.

Eventually it gave up on the attack, and released the eevee to rest a little.

"Thank Arceus you are such a spaz!" Ashe said as the little pokémon bounced back over to their side of the field, looking a little worn out, but otherwise fine. "Now, let's try getting close! Use Quick Attack!"

The eevee chirped her confirmation, and bound off in an impressive burst of speed that almost rivaled Sparks' own Quick Attack.

"I already know that trick! Princess, evade!"

"Not like this!" Ashe countered. It was true, as instead of going through the ghost-type like Leon would've probably expected, Bow came to a skidding halt, using the halted momentum to fling herself at the dual-type. "BITE!"

"VUI!" the frillish cried out in pain as the little eevee latched onto its arm in a frankly vicious, unrelenting attack. It tried valiantly to shake off the normal-type, but it only bit down harder, until eventually it passed out.

"Princess!" Leon called, recalling the dual-type pokémon. He looked down at the pokéball with a sobered expression, before speaking. "You did wonderful, and I'm sorry failed you like that. I should've known you weren't quite so ready for such a battle. Rest up, my dear friend."

Ashe observed the interaction silently as she gave Bow a congratulatory scratch behind the ears, before recalling her to her pokéball.

"You know, Fruity-Boy, maybe you aren't so bad." She finally called out as she stood up, tucking the ball into her belt, and pulling out Sid's.

"You aren't such a horrid opponent yourself, my dear. Though your naming sense does leave a lot to be desired. I mean, 'Fruity-Boy', seriously, what is that even supposed to mean!"

"I'll stop calling you Fruity-Boy, when you stop calling me your 'dear'." Ashe said, a challenge hidden somewhere in the tone of her voice. Leon merely laughed, before pulling out his own, final pokémon.

"My _dear_," he practically purred at her, a rather derisive smirk on his face. "You'll have to do a lot better than that."

"We'll see. Sid, let's rock!" Ashe called out, and almost instantly the battlefield was overtaken in fire, the little fire starter huffing and smoking out of his little, fanged maw.

"Char!"

"Why, my dear, what a splendid surprise! I thought it was just luck that had you with something as rare as both an eevee and a pikachu, and yet here you are with a charmander as well! Well, I can say that if it is luck, you are quite blessed!" He called out then, and threw his own choice into the air.

With a snapping click, the ball flashed to life, the brilliant show clearing to something that struck a strangely familiar chord in Ashe's mind.

'_I've seen this pokémon before…'_

"This, my dear, is something that you might find a little more familiar than the other two." He said, the air chilling far worse than when the duskull had been on the field. "This, my dear, is a haunter! One of three species of ghost-types to be found right here in our own backyards. The staple of Lavender Town, and my own starter. I'd like you to meet King."

"Haunter-haunt!" The new pokémon cackled madly, tongue lolling at slightly to the side.

"Let's begin the finale!" Leon called out, "King, our dear opponent looks tired, hypnosis!"

"Haunt!"

"Sid, look alive! Try scaring it off with a Flamethrower!" She ordered, watching as the various blazes that had appeared on the battlefield finally snuffed out under the haunter's presence.

The ghost-type took the attack rather well, despite the power that had been put behind it, and managed to get both of its clawed handed around the now violently struggling fire-type.

It was all for not however as the little lizard made the mistake of making eye contact with the opponent. The haunter's eyes flashed and Sid was out like a light.

"Sid!"

"Now King, Dream Eater!" The ghost type quickly surrounded the unconscious pokémon in a strange miasma, and Sid began to writhe in pain as his dreams were apparently devoured by the ghost-type, who was apparently using the stolen energy to heal its wounds.

"Oh no, you don't! Sid, snap out of it!" Leon seemed to flinch slightly, though Ashe didn't notice, as her eyes sparked for a few seconds. Without warning the little fire-type was up again, spitting fire and looking rightly upset at his opponent. "Use Flamethrower again! Than follow up with a Metal Claw!"

"Counter with Shadow Ball!"

Once again, the battlefield erupted as the attacks collided, the two powers battling it out before they unexpectedly imploded. There was the faint sound of something clashing with something else, and two cries of pain, but neither trainer could see what was going on as smoke, dust, and debris bellowed out from where the attacks had collided so violently together.

"Sid!" Ashe called out into the sudden silence that fell in the next few seconds. "Sid?"

The smoke cleared, and once again both trainers found themselves staring wide-eyed at the sight that met their eyes. Both pokémon were unconscious.

Another tie.

"Well, shit…" Ashe said, tone stunned with disbelief as she recalled the little fire-type.

"Well indeed, my dear. It appears that you've won. With three of my pokémon down, and you still having your little eevee, that is."

"I guess…" She agreed, giving the pokéball a gentle smile, before tucking it into her belt alongside Bow's. She paused for a couple of seconds, expression screwed up into something strange, before extending her hand out to the older trainer. "I gotta say, though, that was pretty fun, all fruitiness aside of course.

"Indeed it was." Leon agreed, shaking hands. "I hope that we may try this again some other time, when you possibly have more pokémon."

"Maybe, though not very likely…"

"Oh, and why's that?"

"I'm not staying in Kanto." She finally admitted, chuckling slightly nervously. She wasn't about to tell him that she was running away.

"No, why ever not? Kanto is such a fine region."

"I'm headed for Kalos." It didn't answer his question, and she knew it didn't. In fact, she was painfully aware of the fact that she was avoiding it entirely. It didn't matter though, she wasn't going to admit to it, no matter how much tried to drill her on the matter.

"Anyways, I gotta go get my pokémon healed up. See ya!" She easily interrupted before he could speak again, gathering up her backpack and tucking a still resting Sparks into her arms as she made for the back entrance.

There was nothing he could've said that would've changed her mind anyways. Come Wednesday morning, she'd be long gone, and Kanto would just be a memory.

* * *

A/N. So what did you guys think? Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading! Please leave a review and see ya!


	9. Of New Beginnings

A/N. Ok, so maybe I might be updating a little too quickly… But you guys seem to like it so…

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

* * *

**EP 9: Of New Beginnings**

* * *

While Ashe had been more than ready to leave Kanto behind, she'd never actually expected to get as far as she actually had. She'd had plans, yes, but she'd only hoped that they'd succeed. Could only hope, because from the very beginning everything had been set up in someone else's favor.

She could've gotten caught by her mother as she was packing up the stolen supplies and the only belongings she'd felt she needed. Prof. Oak could've caught her as she was stealing from his lab. Any and all manner of things could've gone horrendously awry for her as she'd made her admittedly rushed getaway. And even with Lt. Surge's teachings at her back, she'd still had no clue as to what she was really doing.

If Ashe had been the type that believed in such things, she might've attributed a lot of her success thus far as being Lady Luck smiling upon her.

But Ashe didn't believe in luck, nor did she believe in something as contrived and steadfast as fate.

The world may have continued to turn regardless of what she'd done or was going to do, but she'd have been damned twice over before she'd let herself be condemned like that.

Overdramatic as that might've sounded, she would get the last word in, in regards to her own life and how it was run. And she refused to let her grandparents turn her into a doll.

And in the center of an ocean so large and expansive just thinking about it left her dizzy for hours, with the little yellow mouse that had so quickly become her best friend napping in her lap, and a bright yellow badge still pinned to the collar of her shirt, she still couldn't believe it.

She was stunned, admittedly. With how well things had gone once she'd left Vermillion City.

Lt. Surge had not lied when he'd promised her that the pilots and flight attendants would not question her if she showed them the gym badge he'd given her. It was apparently a free pass to getting on any airplane of her choosing. Though she highly doubted that such a seemingly insignificant piece of metal could hold so much sway all by itself.

She could understand if she'd had more in her possession, but it was just the one. So maybe it was more of the power that came behind the person who bestowed said gym badge. She had the faintest of feelings that there was way more to the electric-type specialist than what Ashe had been able to see at first.

There had been stories in those eyes the man hadn't been willing to share.

But Ashe hadn't been all too willing to ask either.

It was all in the past now though; her time with Surge, her days spent feeling all too trapped in her own home as her mother seemed perfectly content to whittle her own life away living in the same town, doing the same things, and waiting for a husband that probably didn't actually want to come home.

Not that Ashe could blame the man, considering how eager she'd been to leave that little town in her own dust.

That had probably been the biggest surprise that had hit her in such a short amount of time. That she finally understood her father when all that she'd seen before was a man that had been a little too eager to leave, and never seemed to want to stay for any given length of time.

He had probably hated that little town just as much as she had grown to over the years.

How could she even begin to hate him for that?

She was letting her thoughts wander though, into contemplative, possibly unwelcome territory. And from the look of the scenery speeding by the tiny window as the plane shook slightly and some saccharinely sweet voice suddenly came scratching rather violently over the intercom system, the plane was finally landing.

"Ok, Sparks," she said after a few moments of silence, watching the other passengers as they milled about collecting their luggage and trying not to trip over each other in the process. She gently shook the little electric-type awake, watching little red cheeks spark slightly as awareness dawned in little brown eyes, and what was quickly becoming her best friend cooed at her from her lap.

"Pika." He chittered slowly climbing up onto her shoulder as she gave him a scratch behind the ears, a familiar gesture that was more habit now than anything else.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please make sure all personal belongings have been collected as you leave the plane." That same voice intoned as she stood up, the pikachu now securely latched onto her shoulder as she swung her ever familiar backpack onto her shoulders and shuffled out in the ever slowing single file line.

Breaking from the line and disappearing into the ever-growing crowd was far easier than anything she'd done so far, and she had found it moderately strange how thoughtless the move was, navigating the crowd in such a way that she never came under threat of bumping into anyone.

Was it the crowd? Or was it her?

"Well, Sparks. We're here." She said, an unusual sense of finality hitting her like a slap in the face. "Welcome to Kalos."

"Pika."

Neither said anything about the pokédex buzzing in her right hand, nothing but static filling the screen.

* * *

It was official, Ashe was gone.

More than four weeks into the search and it had been determined, that with as slow moving as information was in Kanto, there was really no hope of ever finding the renegade thirteen year old. They weren't going to give up hope, no, but a lot could happen in four weeks and, and it could be safe to assume that Ashe wasn't even in the region anymore.

Deliah had taken the news particularly hard, and if the screaming and yelling from the other room was anything to go by, she was still in stark denial of the fact that her daughter had actually managed to get out of Kanto.

Gary hadn't nearly been so surprised though, considering that in four weeks he could've easily been in Saffron City with his past track record. But Ashe wasn't him, didn't nearly have enough experience to make such a long trip in such a short amount of time.

And yet, she'd somehow managed it.

Far as he could tell, she'd actually done a decent job of eluding the police, or really _any_ substantial form of authority, if the sheer lack of information and leads was anything to go by.

She'd made it as far as Pewter City, from what anyone could tell of the leads they'd managed to dig up, before just vanishing into thin air.

Gone, just like that.

She'd left everything behind without even a singly glance back, and probably hadn't hesitated to do so once the thought had occurred to her to run away.

And Deliah was reeling from it. Even with the realization that she didn't know her own child, the woman just simply refused to believe, let alone cope with the fact that her child had gotten so far so quickly with only the bare minimum of information to go by.

Kalos and Unova.

Two regions so very far away, but entirely impossible to get to without any aid. And with the estimated amount of money Ashe might've had on hand, she couldn't have possibly afforded such a trip.

Getting on a boat was expensive, even for most trainers just starting out on their journeys. And would've been a complete impossibility without a strong flying-type and a good sense of direction. Supposedly, and ideally, Ashe had neither. And even if the thirteen year old had had the money, it wouldn't have mattered.

The only three ports in Kanto with a boat bound for either of the regions would've been cancelled due to that freak storm that had made crossing the ocean a fool's errand. And the one plane that been set for Kalos had been essentially grounded for another few weeks.

A plane was even more expensive than a boat, and yet still they hadn't been able to turn up hide or hair of his childhood friend.

She'd simply vanished without a trace.

And at this point the only two people who could probably find her at this point were up on a mountain and refusing any form of human contact that didn't come in the form of a challenger, and just as impossible to find as Ashe had become.

Or had been, considering that one of them was currently staring him down across the table.

"So remind me again, how one thirteen year old girl who's never set foot outside of Pallet, let alone gotten farther than Viridian City, managed to vanish into thin air?" The tone was jovial, joking, completely disregarding how potentially serious the situation was.

"Blue…" His was the exact opposite, serious and warning, but hadn't that always been their way? Worse off than his relationship with Ashe, was his relationship with his own older brother. Blue, the five-second-champion, who'd stood at the top at one point only to be knocked down by his own mute rival. The ever growing enigma that had been the now pokémon master and constantly disappearing champion, Red.

And if he paused to actually think about it, the last time he'd actually ever seen Blue anywhere within ten miles of Pallet Town, had been six years ago. Six years ago when the older trainer had stormed out of their home, eyes flashing fire and disappearing into the equally stormy night. Leaving nothing behind save for two shell-shocked siblings and a sorely disappointed and equally angry grandfather behind.

They hadn't heard a word from him since, and he'd been just as gone as Ashe.

But he'd never left Kanto after that.

Gary was willing to bet every bit of money that he owned that Ashe wouldn't be found within miles of the region. Let alone actually in it.

"She was in Vermillion you know…" Blue's contemplative tone was the only thing that probably shook Gary from his thoughts, causing him to look up at the young man before him as if he'd grown a second head in the short time since their last little exchange.

"What?"

"Vermillion City, she was there." He repeated, blue eyes sparkling with none of the sarcastic tone he used to wear like the clothes on his back.

It was honestly strange, hearing such a soft tone from someone he'd only ever heard the most scathing of words from before, even though they'd never actually been directed at him. And come to think of it, hadn't everything that had ever gone wrong in their lives, hadn't all those nasty fights their single grandparent had with his second eldest, almost always been started by the elderly professor?

"You're spacing out on me again," Blue cut through his thoughts once again. This time fully aware that Gary wasn't paying attention any more. "You used to do that a lot when you were younger. It drove Grampa crazy, but… Well, you know how things were between the two of us."

Gary sighed at that, hands clamped together as he contemplated the lines in the wooden table's surface before finally speaking.

"You said she was in Vermillion City… You saw her there?"

"I didn't," at the quirked eyebrow that Gary couldn't help but give him, he elaborated. "I didn't, but Red did. Ran into her at some back alley café that he frequents apparently."

"Wait, Red? The mute champion, the one that never comes down from that fucking mountain? He came down to join the rest of us normal folk who don't like freezing to death?"

Blue barked out a laugh at that, hand slapping against his knee and shoulders shaking as tears brimmed his eyes. Gary hadn't heard him laugh in years, not since their grandfather apparently lost it and started putting all that pressure on his shoulders. The same pressure he'd put on Gary's own, if he stopped to think too long about that.

"Yeah, that Red, Gary, that Red. Contrary to popular belief, the idiot actually does like human company. Just not as much as say, you or me."

"Right… I'll believe it when I see it."

"Anyways," Blue snorted, giving Gary the strangest look he'd ever seen in the older boy's eyes. As if he could beg to differ, as if Gary _would _in fact see that eventually. "Red ran into her at this café… Or rather, she ran into Red, and he tried to confront her about it or something… I don't know, I think he might've threatened to call Deliah, and she snapped apparently."

"Ashe? Snap at people? No?"

"Yeah, yeah wise guy, shut up n' let me finish the damn story already."

"Arceus, she didn't actually manage to hurt Red, did she? What she'd do pull some big scary legendary pokémon and sick it on him."

"No, but the kid apparently has some balls on her. She sent out this little fire cracker of a charmander, Mew only knows where she got the damn thing from, and Red being the idiot that he was sent out his charizard in response. Some chaos broke out, and she disappeared in the ensuing havoc that followed. So he doesn't have a clue as to where she went. He tried to find her, but he came up pretty short obviously."

"Oh hell." The two dissolved into peals of laughter at that. Red often had a bad habit of overreacting to certain things and one of those was apparently anything that could be remotely taken as a challenge. Someone sent out a pokémon, he sent out one of his strongest to correct whatever bout of stupidity had led that person into thinking they actually stood a rattata's chance against him in the first place. It's what had originally sparked his rivalry with Blue, and had led to such a horrendous fall out between the two all those years back.

Suddenly though, all merriment was gone from Gary's face, and it must've showed as Blue eyed him strangely.

"Wait a minute…"

"What?"

"Where did Ashe get a charmander from? She doesn't have any pokémon…"

"I don't know, Red didn't say… And I don't think Ashe was up for telling." Blue replied, leaving forward slightly, "And I wouldn't say that anymore if I were you, if what Red saw was true and he wasn't just seeing fire-related mirages, she had at least three pokémon on her at the time."

"There was a pokédex missing from the lab…"

"What?"

"When I got back from Unova, after trekking through Johto to get here. Gramps told me he'd had this little goof up the morning the new trainers were supposed to be getting their starters. One of the pokédex hadn't been started up like the rest, and he'd apparently placed a primeape that was being used in one of his little experiments alongside the others starters."

"So…"

"He'd assumed it was some sort of mistake he'd made late in the night, but a couple of days ago, when one of the aids was taking inventory, it was discovered that one of the pokédex had been taken."

"And if Grandpa ever takes a pokémon from one of the back shelves, even by accident, he makes sure to replace them with another pokémon." Blue's eyes widened as he slowly caught up with what Gary was getting at. "Shit she stole a pokémon and used a primeape to replace it."

"If the list that aid showed me was true, she didn't just steal that charmander. She stole two pokémon. And the pokédex."

"Double shit…"

They were silent for a couple seconds, thoughts turning over in nauseous mess that left both equally dizzy.

Gary had called Ashe a lot of things in the past. All varying degrees of unnecessary, rude, and even sometimes true. But he'd never once taken her as a thief of any kind. But then again… _'She'd been desperate to leave Pallet, and there's a lot of dangerous wild pokémon between here and Viridian. Not even counting the Viridian Forest and Pewter City. Ashe may be a lot of things, but she's not stupid… She'd have at least thought of this to some degree. She stole them because she needed them… But why take two?' _Why take two indeed. Ashe was a creature of spontaneity, which seemed to literally be her only habit.

It was entirely possible that she'd only meant to take one, as a just in case, and had stumbled upon the second while looking for something to replace the stolen pokémon with. But it was also possible that the second pokémon was entirely unrelated to the charmander Ashe had apparently taken from the lab.

Someone else could've also broken in. But how many people knew that the security alarm on the window in the back room didn't work and wouldn't wake anyone up provided one was careful.

Only Ashe, the aids, his grandfather, and himself. They hadn't even told his older sister Daisy, and Blue hadn't been around at the time. And Gary certainly been in any rush to inform the older boy.

"Blue?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you come back?"

"Huh?" It was entirely appropriate reaction all things considered. Questioning Blue's unexpected presence in the Ketchum home had come from about as far out field as Gary could've probably gotten away with. There was no lead up, nothing that would've given way to such a thing. His own thoughts hadn't even led up to that.

But he had to know, before the older boy disappeared again.

"Why risk running into Gramps. Let's face it the two of you get along worse that a zangoose and a serviper. You've done nothing but fight ever since that one devastating loss to Red." Blue actually winced at that, but Gary had to give him credit where credit was due. He hadn't started yelling at him when he brought up the one sore topic that had been what originally sent him flying out of their home without any sort of pause or glance backwards.

"Gary, what are you trying to get at?"

"Why come back now, when no one's heard a word from you in over six years. You were perfectly content to let everyone think you were dead, why show up now. And why here?"

"Big questions Gary, a lot of big questions. And I don't think I can answer all of them." Gary made to say something at that, but was quickly silenced as Blue put both his hands up, eyes begging him to not fight or yell. To just this once sit back and listen. "I don't think I'm ready to answer those questions just yet."

"But regardless you're not staying." There was something final and accusing in his words, but he didn't think he could bring himself to care. Blue was doing it again.

He was abandoning them.

"Yeah," he acquiesced, not looking guilty in the least. Gary only wished he could be that calm. "But I was thinking of taking you with me this time…"

"Wait… What?" It appeared that Blue had beaten him in the surprise, out-of-left-field responses.

"Gary, you heard me say that. And both of us know you heard me say that. You're not a dumb kid, you never were. And you're old enough to make your own decisions. You should know that there's more out there than just Pallet Town. Red might find that hard to believe, and I know Deliah and the old man have you thinking the same. But it's true and we both know that. You can't live your entire life constantly playing yo-yo in order to please him!"

There was no need to elaborate on who 'he' was. They both knew without it being said.

"But Blue…"

"But nothing Gary. We both know that man will never be happy with us. Nothing we do is ever going to please him."

"So you're going to try to talk me into running away, just like you?"

"Yes, actually. I am. Face it Gary, Gramps, as well as he means, is ruining our lives. Unintentionally or not. And you can't tell me that you like being a pokémon trainer. We both know you don't. It's fun, but even I can see that you'd much rather be doing something else."

"Well, maybe I do… but…"

"Gary." It was all it took really, honestly. All it ever took. Blue had always been a rock in a storm for the three siblings. What with their elder sister being far too emotionally fragile to whether all the shit that got flung their way.

Their parents had been about as constant a presence as Ashe's own father, and he wasn't even about to get started on Red's, who very well could've been dead for all they knew and heard about the man. And their grandfather had always been so drowned in his research that he'd barely had time for them.

Blue had always been there though, until the professor had pushed him away.

"Ok."

"Good, and Gary?"

"Yes?" he responded, sounding and feeling like he was in a strange dream of some sort. He went stiff, body scrunched together and looking like he fully expected to get hit for no reason as arms wrapped around him and pulled him into a rather unexpected hug.

"Never, for a second, doubt that I didn't miss you and Daisy."

"O-Ok."

* * *

A/N. So apparently my goal this chapter is to make you all feel something. Don't ask why, I'm not entirely sure myself. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading! Please leave a review and see ya!


	10. To Furry Thieves Everywhere Pt 1

A/N. Ok, I'll be honest. I've been having an admittedly painful and frustrating time trying to start this chapter. But I finally got it! (maybe…)

And one has to wonder, what languages do the people in the world Pokémon speak, because if you pay attention (and I can't be the only one who has ever pointed this out or noticed this), around Unova, or maybe even Sinnoh, the written language you see in the anime is different from Kanto. (I don't know if it changed in Johto or Hoenn either, since I don't remember those seasons very well and I admittedly missed a lot of the Johto season.) So that must mean that the different regions speak different languages, and also have different written forms as well… And you here characters in the (Japanese subs at least) Kalos season speak certain words in French, like Manon/Mairin.

Also, it just dawned on me that in one of the chapters I got East and West mixed up, which is kind of had to do since on a map compass the initials spell the word "WE" in all capitals. Ok, I might be stalling a little…

On to the chapter!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

* * *

**EP 10: To Furry Thieves Everywhere! Pt 1**

* * *

Some weeks later found Ashe sitting rather listlessly in an as of yet unknown café on some street with a name comprised of such a strange assortment of letters she'd never be able to pronounce it, Sparks and the others scattered slightly around her feet and enjoying the free treats the café had to offer and staring gormlessly at the static-filled screen of her now more than useless pokédex.

It'd probably stopped working sometime after leaving Kanto's national borders, which was possibly some thousand kilos off of the eastern coast and right at the mountain range that housed the Indigo Plateau and by extension the Pokémon Leagues for both of the neighboring regions. She couldn't rightly estimate where the rest of it ended though, since, if she remembered correctly from school and the professor's lessons, the region's borders and by extension its wireless networks, made a rather obtuse and poorly drawn circle around the region, due to having to accommodate both Johto and the far more chaotic region of Orre that they shared a massive landmass with.

But it was all minute details that really didn't matter in the long run, and it was really no great loss if the pokédex was irreparably broken. She hadn't used it much in Kanto anyways, far too scared that it would get her caught before she'd ever got a chance to even come close to leaving the region, and even if it had worked, it would be nothing more than junk in Kalos. There were hundreds of pokémon that could be found outside of Kanto, and Kalos recognized all of them in its pokédex, due to how many diverse species existed within in its own borders. Kanto on the other hand could only boast a grand total 150 or so species, and while that could be considered quite a lot, and admittedly it was, the pokédex she'd stolen could only give her information on those only found in that specific region.

That was what it had been designed for anyways. It was one of the more basic models after all, and while it could be updated and exchanged for newer, faster and more widely used versions, it would take and was in fact, far more trouble than it was probably worth. As valuable as the device might've been, it was essentially garbage at this point.

"So what next?" She sighed, picking up the device, and tossing it rather lamely into a nearby trash bin without a second thought.

She only had herself to blame really. She hadn't thought very far ahead beyond getting on the next boat or plane out of Kanto when she'd first run off, and now that she was out of Kanto and about as far as she could conceivably get without leaving the planet entirely, she hadn't a clue as to what to do next with herself.

She supposed she could challenge the leagues, but that would be playing dangerous games honestly, and she wasn't entirely set on tempting fate like that. Drawing attention to herself was probably the very last thing she wanted to do after only just getting here.

So she was stuck, with her hands tied somewhat. She needed money, and rather quickly running as low as she was. Feeding herself was one thing, but she couldn't constantly ride the free wave that was a café. Not every town or city would have one after all, and even if they did, it didn't mean all of them offered free food for a trainer's pokémon. She needed some form of income, even a slightly unreliable one, otherwise she and her pokémon would probably starve. She grimaced at the thought of her pokémon going hungry, looking at the three and feeling a little resentful towards herself that she hadn't considered that an issue before leaving.

"Arceus, this sucks…"

"Pika?"

"Somebody stop that pokémon!" The sudden commotion had drawn her attention rather quickly from her admittedly depressive thoughts, watching with wide eyes as a black ball of galloping fur, and nothing else from what she could tell, sped past, something lodged rather firmly in its teeth and leaving quite a few frazzled looking humans in its dust.

"What's going on?" She questioned, curiosity getting the better of her as she set her drink aside, all of her pokémon curling unexpectedly at her feet and causing her to stiffen slightly at the sensation. Never let it be said that her pokémon cold in temperature, because having all but wrapped around her ankles left her feeling a little more than comfortably warm.

"That damn pokémon… Ah, I'm sorry Miss… It's just…" The man grumbled and panted slightly, practically keeled at her feet and gasping for air. She hadn't known what he was thinking particularly, and she certainly didn't feel bad for him. From what she could tell, whatever it was that had passed by had four legs and a lot of fur. If she had to make a guess, it was probably something like the growlithe and arcanine that Lt. Surge owned back at his gym. Or it might've been like those meowth that one of the other apprentices had been so fascinated by.

She was digressing, a lot actually.

"Breathe, and here, this might help a little." She instructed gently, pulling out a bottle of water that one of the waiters had given her and handing it to the clearly very winded man.

"Ah, I couldn't possibly…"

"It's fine," she insisted, forcing the bottle into the man's hand and refusing to take it back. "Now drink." She waited patiently, as the man gave her the most relieved smile she'd ever seen on a person, before gulping the water down in two swallows and taking a deep breathe.

"Thank you, Miss, though I must say I wasn't expecting such kindness… Do you mind if I ask your name?"

"Ah… It's…" _'Don't give him your real name, that'd be stupid, and we both know it…' _Her conscience screamed at her in warning as she fought to come up with something to give the man… "Aisling. Aisling Volcna." She finally spit out, her own middle name stuttering over her tongue like a six-lane pile up. She'd never liked it, but it would do for now, even if it wasn't the most clever name she could've come up with. She'd admittedly panicked a bit though, and it was far too late to back step now. "What was that anyways?" She questioned, maybe a little too eager to push subject off of herself.

The man blinked at her, eyes wide for a couple seconds, before sighing.

"That… was a pokémon that's been giving us a lot of trouble lately. It raids the cabinets, steals the customer's food and generally makes a menace of itself on these streets. We've tried to catch it… but we're no pokémon trainers, and it's so… fast." He explained, chuckling nervously and scratching at the back of his head.

"I could…"

"Hm?"

"If it's such a problem… I might be able to help…" Ashe said, hesitation clear in her voice as she looked at the man.

He seemed to eye her in contemplation, surveying her for a bit before dropping to stare at the three pokémon still attached rather persistently to her feet.

"Well, you do appear to be a rather capable trainer… If you're willing, we could really use the assistance." The man admitted, "It might not help a whole lot, but the pokémon, from what we can tell, lives on Route 5." He said, pointing to a corner a few blocks down. "I'd try there first, but I'm no pokémon trainer…"

She nodded to his words, returning both Sid and Bow to their respective pokéballs, and allowing Sparks to clamber onto her shoulder, before walking off in what she assumed was the correct direction.

"I'll be back!" She promised, before taking off at a full sprint.

* * *

She had no clue as to why she'd volunteered herself like that. What could she do after all? She'd never tracked a pokémon before in her life, especially a wild one, and she had no clue where to even begin or start.

Yes, she was in the right area, or she hoped she was, but beyond that? She was way in over her head. The pokémon had the advantage, in more ways than one, and it didn't help at all that she didn't know what exactly she was supposed to be looking for.

It could be anything, from something familiar to a creature she'd never seen before in her entire life. Pokémon came in a wide variety of shapes and colors after all, a black ball of fur could be literally anything.

"Sparks, please tell me. What have I gotten myself into?" She begged, a slight whine to her voice as she pulled herself through the thick grass, hoping futilely that she'd just happen to run into the culprit. It wasn't very likely, but still.

"Pika." The little electric-type said, voice dull and eyes quirked in what had to be the most sarcastic expression the pokémon had given her to date.

"Yeah, yeah, just shush and help me look! The longer we're out here, the longer we go without food." She reminded the little mouse, both grimacing at the thought before he jumped from her shoulder and disappeared into the taller thickets of grass. "Great idea…" She commented idly, watching as the grass continued to move and shuffle about before she continued on her own little way.

Unfamiliar territory or no, Sparks could handle himself, and even if he couldn't he'd be able to find her should he need any help at all. It wasn't likely but still, between the two of them, she was the one in need of the most assistance probably.

"Seriously… Where is this pokémon… Well… A better question would probably be, what is this pokémon?" She asked herself, tripping over an unseen rock and practically face planting into the dirt. She had to admit though, she was having a lot of fun, even if it did turn out to be completely fruitless, like she was fully expecting it to be. "Ah, shit!" Ashe swore suddenly, the solid earth beneath her feet suddenly giving way to nothing but thin air.

She yelped then, rolling helplessly down the slight incline and landing with a rather solid thunk against the ground below. "Ow…" she groaned slightly more than one part of her body hurting rather sharply as she pushed herself up. "That could've gone far smoother…"

Finally managing to stand up, she held one hand against her side, eyes glued to the one hand that hung limply at her side and realizing rather belatedly that it, along with her right leg, was bleeding slightly. _'Well, now isn't that just great…' _She picked slightly at the scrapes now decorating her leg, before finally deciding that yes, it did in fact hurt, quite a lot actually, but no, she was in no danger of dying.

"Great! But I'm still stuck…"

"Grr…"

* * *

A/N. Another not very long chapter, but as stated before I was having a lot of difficulty getting this started. Plus, I'm a little low on my "Annoying Cliff-Hangers" quota, so obviously I need to make up for the deficit.

Three guesses as to what that black ball of fur is, the first two don't count.

Anyways, again, I'm really sorry about the short chapter, but I'll try and make the next one longer. I hope you guys enjoyed it though, and thanks for reading! Please leave a review and see ya!


	11. To Furry Thieves Everywhere Pt 2

A/N. So thanks for all the reviews so far! I'm happy so many people are enjoying the story. Anyways, onto the next chapter!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

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**EP 11: To Furry Thieves Everywhere Pt 2**

* * *

Ashe had had some rather shitty luck in the past. She didn't think she had enough limbs to be able to count how many times something she'd done had landed her in a rather unpleasantly sticky situation. On more than one occasion Gary or Prof. Oak, or even Gary's older brother, had had to bail her out from some potentially fatal accident or mishap.

It'd been on more than one occasion that she'd find some obscure plan of hers that she'd admittedly not thought through very well, going horrendously awry on so many levels that it honestly wasn't funny anymore. But back pressed flat against a jagged, rocky cliff face a few feet taller than herself, leg scrapped to hell and back, and staring what had to be the largest pokémon Ashe had seen to date?

That had to take the cake on some level.

She was pretty sure the only thing she'd be able to do to top this, would be something along the lines of getting caught in the middle of a war between two or more legendary pokémon.

On multiple different occasions, because knowing her rather impressive streak of luck, she'd inevitably get caught up in something quite similar at least once during her journeys. Provided of course, she didn't get caught should she somehow survive her current predicament.

And this giant bear-like pokémon that reminded her a little of her father's ursaring looked about ready to rip her in half with its bare hands. Terrible pun completely unintended and notwithstanding.

"Well shit and fuck a bucket…" Ashe swore as the pokémon suddenly roared, rearing its head back as spittle flew out of its mouth and it bellowed its already very apparent anger out for any human and pokémon within a mile radius of their current location to hear. "I'm so dead…"

As if to confirm this, the pokémon's massive paw began to glow in some possibly very lethal attack. Ashe closed her eyes, fully expecting her life to end now.

Whoever said that when you die, you're life flashes before your eyes, lied horrendously. Because right now all she could see was a world of pain coming her way, not every single past mistake and even that had ever occurred in her rather short life. _'Oh, to die so young…'_

But the pain never came.

"GROARR!"

"What the-?!" Ashe was amazed to say the least, though dumbfounded would've probably been a more accurate description. The pokémon that had just been about to end her was now on the ground, practically out like a light and looking a rightful amount of dazed and more than a little confused and angry.

Standing between the two of them though, was a pokémon that Ashe had never seen before, head lowered to the ground on all fours and growling fiercely with its black fur puffed up and hackles raised. It would've probably looked a lot more threatening to Ashe, but as shocked as she was to still be alive and breathing, and with the other pokémon that looked far more pissed than it had when she'd accidently dropped in, by comparison it appeared to be pretty tame.

The larger, ursaring-like pokémon pushed itself up from the ground, not done in nearly so quickly by the newcomer's surprise attack, and roared its anger at the creature before charging it, fist raised and ready to punish the growlithe-like creature for its impudence.

It hit nothing but air though, as the new pokémon leaped right over its head, landing on the ursaring-like pokémon's back and jumping into the air. The force of the jump was apparently enough to cause the larger pokémon to be slammed into the ground, its own massive weight working against it and only seeming to help the smaller, more agile of the two.

Ashe whistled then, thoroughly impressed by what she was seeing. The larger pokémon may have had all the power, but it didn't matter if it couldn't hit its opponent, and it'd just wind up tiring itself out in the end.

On the other hand, the little pokémon was probably far weaker in comparison, but it didn't matter because between the two of them, it was far faster, and able to dodge all of the larger pokémon's attacks.

But no battle went smoothly or to plan exactly, and the little pokémon took a rather devastating punch when it accidently mistimed its dodge and as a result, missed the larger pokémon's sweeping follow up. It bounced rather violently against the ground, skidding to a stop at her feet.

She quickly bent down, to check if the pokémon was okay. It's ruffled black fur was covered in dirt and dust from its rather brutal argument with the ground, and it looked like maybe the landing had busted up its hind leg, but the pokémon was clearly very stubborn, because it disregarded its injuries completely and stood back up. Growling fiercely as the larger pokémon approached the two.

It didn't leave her side though, instead positioning itself between her and the big brute.

"Listen, I'm sorry okay? I didn't mean to barge into your territory like that!" Ashe tried to placate the pokémon, arms wrapped around her apparent protector and hoping it would be enough for the enraged pokémon. It didn't listen though, and seemed to only get angrier as it stomped closer to them. "Shit… It's not listening…" _'Bow won't be able to face that thing, she's so tiny she'll only bounce off of it… And I don't think Swift-ing it in the face is gonna help at all… But…' _"Sid, use Ember!" Ashe yelled out, tossing the fire starter's pokéball into the air.

It clicked with a flash of light, the pokémon in question appearing as he normally did, spitting fire and causing everything to spontaneously combust within a foot wide radius of himself.

The giant paused for a few seconds at the new addition to the fight, but only seemed to chuckle once it registered just how tiny the little lizard actually was. It made to crush Sid with a vicious punch of some kind, but was stopped with a fire-type attack to the face.

It paused then, for a few seconds before growling in absolute anger.

"Grrr… GROAR!"

"Sid!" The little fire-type was sent flying suddenly, spinning wildly in the air for a few seconds before descending rather dangerously to the ground. It was caught though, in a heap of fluff as the pokémon next to her suddenly hopped underneath and seemed to grow in size slightly.

"CHAR!" Sid slid to the ground then, looking rather shaken visibly before he seemed to slap himself. He growled his thanks to their new friend, before bearing his little fangs at his opponent.

'_Shit… Sid's not strong enough… And I'm not sure… Sparks is still up somewhere above us… It'd take him too long to get here… Looks like I have no choice…' _"Bow, I'm sorry but we need some back up here… Go!" She called out her last remaining pokémon, the normal-type bouncing onto the field and looking just as hopelessly happy as she always did.

Their enemy blinked in shock at the new addition to the battle, before bursting into peals of growling laughter that left Ashe feeling far less confident than she ever had facing a human. It all cut short though as Bow promptly sent an unordered Swift at their opponent's face, expression challenging as she then suddenly and without warning bounded forward.

It was a headlong charge, bound to fail due to how small Bow was in comparison to their much larger opponent, and yet and still the little eevee managed to actually knock the larger pokémon on its rear end, shocking it as she danced around its massive paws and distracted the thing completely from them.

"Go Bow…" Ashe finally commented, staring in stunned silence as the little eevee pranced around the beast and generally did what she normally during any battle, making a complete menace of herself. The sudden rumbling at her side was probably the only warning she had, before the pokémon that had been helping her lunged forward, slamming itself bodily into the larger pokémon's side just as it was about to finally catch the little ball of energy. "That's it!" Ashe said finally seeing how they could win the battle. "Sid, while Bow and that other pokémon have it distracted, use Flamethrower!" She ordered, pointing at their target.

The little charmander nodded his head in confirmation before throwing himself into the battle as well, flames licking at his maw as he released the powerful stream of fire.

The giant pokémon roared in pain, trying to swat at the flames as the attack hit, only to be overwhelmed when Bow added her own Swift to the onslaught as the other pokémon charged its unguarded back. As the attacks petered out finally, the large pokémon collapsed to the ground, large, already dark fur smoking as it groaned out before falling completely silent.

"We did it…" Ashe gasped out, a wide grin slowly appearing on her face as the realization hit. "WE DID IT!" She yelled out finally, pulling both of her pokémon into an exuberant hug as they cheered and celebrated. The other pokémon huffed its own satisfaction out, before lying down on the ground next to the three.

"Pikapi!"

"Sparks! We're over here!" Ashe called back at the sound of the familiar voice, waving as the electric-type came into the view.

"Pika!" He chirped, sliding far more gracefully than she had down the hill, before running over to the join his three friends. He completely disregarded the still passed out pokémon, obviously deciding it was better not to ask what had happened.

She grinned, reaching down to give the mouse a scratch behind the ears, before turning to ruffle the fur of her savior and possible new friend. The pokémon growled its appreciation for the act, tail wagging at the affection as it leaned into the touch.

"Thanks so much for helping me back there." She whispered, giving the pokémon a hug.

"Frou!" It barked at her, giving her one big sloppy wet lick across the cheek as its response. She laughed, unable to be angry or upset at the show of affection.

Suddenly though, their celebration cut short, Sid suddenly glowing a blinding white, light. Ashe covered her eyes for a few seconds, waiting for the sudden light show to die down before she even dared to look again.

What met her eyes, was something she'd never seen before.

"Sid?" She questioned, reaching out to touch the large, smirking lizard. He nodded, flexing his much longer arms and spitting a stream of fire in the air, much larger than anything he'd ever produced as a charmander.

She had no clue what he was now though.

"Well, now, if that isn't rather impressive!" An unfamiliar voice suddenly called out. Ashe looked, blinking blearily at the newcomer standing above their heads and looking down at them.

A woman, from what Ashe could tell, and something did ring a tad familiar but she couldn't rightly place what exactly about her it was. She had chocolate brown hair, braided and wrapped around her head in what looked kind of like a crown of sorts, and clad in nothing but white.

"Uh… Um…" She stuttered out, confusion evident as she pulled Sid and the rest of her pokémon towards herself, their new friend still buried into her side.

The woman jumped down without much hesitation.

"I must say that I'm really impressed though. Close call as it was, you still managed to beat that pangoro. I see a lot of potential in you..."

"W-Who are you?"

"Hmm? Oh yes, I'm sorry. I guess I got a little carried away. My name is Diantha."

* * *

It'd been sitting in the woman's living room with enough bandages to make a mummy around her thigh and arm, and a hot cup of some kind of chocolatey drink that they didn't have in Kanto settled firmly in her palm, that Ashe had finally remembered why exactly the woman that had pulled her out of that mini-ravine seemed so strangely familiar even that she could swear that she'd never met her in her entire life.

Diantha, was, in no short or exaggerated terms, one of, if not the most famous pokémon trainer in the known world. A movie star mainly based in the Kalos region for various well-known and obvious reasons, she was world-renowned for anything she starred in, and just simply having her name somewhere on it typically caused movies to sell out by the thousands, if not millions world-wide.

She was also, just to seem that much more impressive, one of the few female regional league champions, alongside Cynthia of the Sinnoh region, and unless the mantle had been passed down at some point within the last two years, Iris of the Unova region, who was also the youngest regional league champion to date.

And just like Cynthia, she was known to be frighteningly powerful. Sweeping any competitors who dared to challenge her under the rug, though she never sent anyone home crying. If anything, everyone who lost to her was apparently so start struck and dazed, they'd be talking gibberish for weeks.

She wouldn't admit it, but Ashe idolized the woman to some extent. She could've done without the fame in such, but the fact that she was a woman, and was so skilled a pokémon trainer. Ashe had dreamed to be like her, just as powerful, just as capable.

Just as independent.

But her mother had crushed those dreams at a rather young age, trying to instill a love for the more glamorous side of Diantha's fame. Ashe had never much cared for movies though in general, and her mother's plans had fallen so far short of success that it honestly wasn't even funny.

Regardless, she'd never thought that she'd ever get to meet the woman. Diantha so seldomly left Kalos because of her duties as champion after all, and Ashe's mother would've never her leave Pallet willingly unless it was to hand her off to her grandparents for a good old session of brainwashing.

But now?

"So, you were looking for a thief stealing from the cafés on South Boulevard? But you didn't know exactly what you were doing, and in the end fell into that pangoro's territory?"

"Y-yeah… Pretty shitty luck right?" Ashe admitted, blushing slightly as she realized just how stupid she'd probably been. It certainly could've gone a whole lot better she'd admit but still.

"Well, I wouldn't say that your luck is so terrible. Your little thief apparently came to your rescue."

"H-Huh?" Diantha laughed at her rather dumbfounded expression, gaping at the woman as she was.

"Black fur, four legs, looks like a ball of fluff? A shiny furfrou if I had to guess."

"Furfrou?"

"It's a normal-type pokémon native to Kalos, and to my knowledge right now, not found anywhere else. Loyal and protective, they have a history with the past royalty of the region as guards. This one here has apparently taken quite the liking to you, if the sheer fact that it hasn't left your side is any indication."

"But why? I haven't done anything…"

"You helped it despite needing rescuing yourself, and showed concern when it was injured trying to protect you. I think, you've more than proven to be a nice enough trainer in this little one's eyes."

"Oh…" Ashe finally admitted, staring down at the furfrou currently wrapped around her feet. She was effectively caged from going anywhere anytime soon, with the new pokémon at her ankles and Sparks and Bow sprawled out rather spectacularly across her lap. Sid was resting off to the side, tail fire flickering in the warmth of the fire place that Diantha had started while getting Ashe settled in to her living room when they'd first gotten there.

"You can keep her you know."

"Huh?"

"I'm certain no one would mind. This child is clearly wild, and she seems very attached to you."

"Wait… 'her'?"

"Oh yes, this child is apparently female."

"Huh…" Diantha laughed at her responses, suddenly standing up from her own seat to pull a blanker off of the sofa.

"It's late, and after such a hectic day you must be tired. You can stay here for the night, and tomorrow we'll talk more."

"B-But…"

"Ah-uh! I won't take no for an answer. You'll stay here, and get some rest. Besides, I'm still a little weary of those scrapes of yours, and your pokémon need their rest as well."

"O-ok…" Ashe consented, overwhelmed by Diantha's sudden show of stubbornness. She motioned Ashe over to the sofa, and made her lay down, before tucking her into the cushions, watching with barely contained amusement as the girl's pokémon piled in around her.

"Have a good night, and try and get some sleep, ok?"

"Ok… Night Miss Diantha."

The lights went out.

* * *

A/N. Ok, so the chapter's a little longer than it was originally going to be, but it was still rather short. Ashe is going to get an explanation of evolution next chapter probably… Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading. Please leave a review and see ya!


	12. Fresh Starts are Made

A/N. Ok, so as it turns out, I'm having a lot of difficult getting chapters out right now. So I may wind up taking a little break and working on another story that needs revision for a little bit, until my pool of ideas refreshes itself… Hopefully I won't have to…

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, because if I did, those little PMD specials would've been a whole entire series.**

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**Ep 12: Fresh Starts are Made**

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Contrary to whatever popular belief had been amongst her friends, and anyone who honestly knew her moderately well, Ashe hadn't always hated her home. She hadn't always wanted out of Pallet Town, hadn't always gone specifically out of her way at every chance she seemingly got to displease her mother and prove just how unlike her she wanted to be.

Pallet Town hadn't always looked and felt like an inescapable prison to her.

There had been a time that she'd wanted to please her mother and grandparents, and would do anything to hear them just once say how proud they were of her. But it was hard when everything they wanted looked strange and foreign to her, when she grew so bored so easily of playing pretend tea parties with her mother and some of the more delicate little girls that she'd tried to get along with, honestly she had. But they were dull and frankly, at such a young age and with such a limited vocabulary at the time, stupid. And the tea parties were so fake and saccharine that she'd only been able to turn her nose up at the end of it all and quit.

Which had been quite the severe blow to her own pride, because when in the world did Ashelyn Volcna Ketchum quit? Never, until that specific in time. Her mother on the other hand, had been far more stubborn than she could ever hope to be, and had tried, persistently so to instill some sort of "regularity" into her only daughter.

Or that was the only word Ashe could come up with to describe her mother's goals.

They'd all fallen short though, and by the time Ashe was six, at what had to be the earliest age possible for a child, she'd decided on three big things.

One; that her grandparents and female cousins were all idiots, and her male cousins were just so boringly dull that she could not be asked to associate with them for any length of time. Two; that anyone who played with those freaky human-shaped dolls with the glass eyes might be certifiably insane. And three, which had been probably most jarring thing in the world for any child she was certain.

Three; she hated her mother.

Hated everything she seemed to represent, and what she stood for, what she tried making Ashe into. What Ashe never would be, because the parts that might've made her into something that her grandparents would've been proud of, just didn't exist.

She couldn't be the little girl who played with dolls and wore frilly dresses. The sight of mud didn't bother her and she'd had more scraped knees and bruised elbows in her day to last all of the children of Pallet Town, and still have some more. And bug-types were about the second most fascinating thing she'd ever seen.

Bows were frivolous at best and tangled too easily for her admittedly short patience to handle, skirts got in the way and ripped too easily, and if her mother pulled her hair one more time trying to get it into one of those curly ponytails that she thought made all the other girls in town look rather silly, then she was going to hit something. She wouldn't even get within ten feet of any kind of make-up because the one time she'd let her mother apply it to her face, she'd felt and looked like a clown.

So no, she couldn't be the pretty little princess that her mother had wanted so badly she'd practically bled all over the kitchen floor for it. She couldn't be the perfect little angel her grandparents had wanted, and she certainly was not about to try anymore.

Because she had tried, and all it had done was leave her with a festering resentment and hatred for the only family she'd ever had that had managed to actually stick around. For the little town she'd lived in with no way out, and no place to go unless you had a future as a pokémon trainer, or something similar.

So yes, she'd run away, shamelessly and without any hesitation beyond some admittedly minor, insubstantial preparation that had gotten her a lot farther than it probably should've. And if that broke her poor mother's heart, well, after three weeks of being out from under the woman's domineering thumb, and by extension out of her grandparents' iron grip, she certainly no longer felt any guilt for it.

And maybe she was being a little extreme right now, but it was the truth.

She wasn't going back, regardless of what anyone said.

* * *

Unsurprisingly, it had been Diantha to figure out without any clues or anyone saying anything, that maybe the thirteen year old trainer she'd found in the hills outside of Lumiose City wasn't who she had originally thought to be. Which was, to say rather simply, just that. A moderately decent, thirteen year old foreign trainer who'd just had the grievously bad luck to accidently stumble into a pangoro's territory.

But she wasn't just some random trainer with occasionally abysmal luck. She'd been a little rogue all the way from Kanto, Pallet Town of all places, run off from home and with no intentions of turning back. Only three pokémon to her name, though that number could now be bumped up to a grand total of four, maybe five, a small backpack carrying the bare minimum of supplies, and enough money to last her at least another month before she ran out, especially if she kept going to the cafés that fed pokémon for free.

And not once had it ever crossed her mind to turn the child in to the proper authorities, to get her shipped back to where she would've legally belonged. Because despite what she may or may not have been willing to admit, she could see herself, and quite a few other people she knew to some degree in that little girl.

Every time she looked at the girl, she could see it. A ghost of a past she'd left to haunt her shadows, the same brilliant, screaming fire that had blazed in her own when she was younger, burning its own proclamation of defiance in brown eyes just this side of red. She could see a girl only a year old at most, just as tiny backpack strapped to her back and possibly even more unprepared, only two pokémon, not three to her name, and just as hateful of her own home.

She'd wondered if she'd looked back when she'd left Pallet, or if she'd simply kept walking until her legs couldn't carry her any farther.

Despite popular belief, pokémon trainer wasn't nearly as well-received as it was made out to be. Not many parents were willing to send their young, inexperienced children out, and it wasn't always the most idea career choice for anyone.

It was a popular form of entertainment, to be certain, watching strange and powerful creatures of all shapes, colors, and sizes fight or perform on a stage. But behind the scenes of the cameras and the out of the cities where there was nothing to do but train and travel, capture more to add to the strength of a team growing or already powerful in their own way. It was a vastly different story, one many children never got the chance to see.

Because, despite the glitz, the glam, the complete wonder that came with the responsibilities that was a pokémon trainer, it was also a very dangerous, very life-threatening job.

There was always the chance one could lose a limb during a training session, or even die while scaling a mountain or cave, or get so lost in a forest that they could never find their way out. There was no guarantee that you would come home safe, if you even came home at all.

So yes, it admittedly, wasn't nearly as popular as most might think. But it certainly wasn't such a rare profession either. Provided one got pass the hurtle that was a sensible parent, one could find that many people, regardless of how young or old they were when they started, thrived as pokémon trainers.

It didn't matter in the end. None of it did, not the past she'd hidden in her own shadows and left to rot because she wouldn't go home if you'd paid her, not the little girl she'd spent an entire night bandaging up because as well as she walked she was still very hurt, not the four pokémon sitting around the girl and not the six that seemingly never left her side.

She had decided that it wasn't anyone's business where this little girl was anymore. Because conveniently by all laws and rights, once she was recognized as trainer, she was, to an extent, an adult.

* * *

Nearly a month later had found Ashe sitting across a table from a woman who didn't even know her name, eating a breakfast comprised of enough pastries and sweets to make most people diabetic, fiddling with her too long hair and wondering blatantly if she should get it cut or not.

And maybe Diantha could read minds, Ashe still wasn't entirely sure, or maybe she was really just that easy to read, because as drowned in her thoughts as she had been, she hadn't heard anything when the champion had started speaking.

"Dear, are you not hungry?" the woman asked, giving her the look she'd come to associate with a prodding sense to elaborate on her thoughts. How the woman was able to order both people and pokémon around without actually saying a word baffled her to no end, and probably always would.

Red had been capable of the same thing if she remembered correctly, only it was limited to pokémon at most and the few people who knew him well enough to understand what he wanted through sheer change of facial expression and liberal usage of glares and blank stares. It a little more physical with his pokémon though if what she'd seen on TV was true. The man was able to order his pokémon about with a simply snap of the finger.

Diantha had him beat by miles. All she had to do was spare a single glance, and the whole battle was won.

"No, it's not that… It's just…" She twisted the captured lock of hair around her fingers, surveying the knots even her own mother hadn't been able to tame. "This must sound so stupid… But… How much would it cost to get your hair cut?" She finally spit out, giving the woman what had to be the most pleadingly lost look she'd ever managed.

"You want to cut your hair?"

"Yes, it's so long it keeps getting in the way, and Arceus knows it's too much of a mess at this length to take care of properly and…" At that point she was really just bullshiting the woman and making up reasons that hopefully wouldn't make her sound like a complete idiot.

"Well, depends on how much you want to get cut off, and what else you'd want to do with it."

"So pricey?"

"Very. But that doesn't mean you can't afford it."

"How? I don't have nearly enough money." Diantha quirked a delicate eyebrow at that response, and Ashe couldn't help but blink as the woman smiled at her in such a conspiratory way that Ashe was actually concerned about what the woman had in mind.

* * *

"Diantha, darling, it's been so long!" The overly cheery voice had Ashe hiding behind the champion in seconds, eyes wide knees shaking for a reason she wasn't about to think about for any length of time.

"Madame Cheveu, it had been a while, hasn't it?" The champion greeted, smiling innocently as she rested a hand reassuringly on the suddenly skittish trainer's own. "I'm sorry to not have visited, but as you can probably tell, I've been very busy lately."

"Oh, I'm certain! The life of a movie star leaves no room for rest, especially when they also double as champion of an entire region and its league. You really must let me do a touch up though, it looks like your bangs are growing long again."

"Maybe, but I'm not here for myself this time around." It was the only warning she had gotten before the champion unceremoniously pulled her out from her impromptu hiding spot, essentially throwing her under a bus in the form of a woman with long black hair pulled into a low ponytail and a yellow streak along the bangs.

"Oh my!" The woman cooed, bending down slightly to get a good look at her new customer. "She's so cute! And all that hair! My dear, I'm shocked you've been able to handle it." She frowned then, running her fingers through the tangled mess before gently pulling the strands apart. "Well, it's of no matter really. But we should probably be getting started, were there any styles you have in mind?"

Suddenly the room spun wildly, a sinking feeling hitting her in the gut as she was yanked down the two stairs separating what must've been the waiting room from the actual salon. Diantha was not far behind them, watching with an amused smile as the woman rather unceremoniously dropped Ashe into one of the many chairs placed at the sinks and flung some kind smock over her.

"I've never done this before…" She admitted, wide eyed as the woman smoothly twisted around the champion's form, grabbing up several hair products Ashe had probably never heard of along the way. "I just kind of wanted to get it cut…"

"I see… Any input Diantha dear?" At the question the champion shrugged, just as smooth and graceful as the apparent hair stylist currently back to running her fingers through her hair.

"Something functional for a young trainer who travels a lot. But other than that… Surprise us!" The stylist grinned at that, face lighting up with barely contained excitement before grabbing a rather strange looking brush. "Dear, don't look so panicked, I'd trust this woman with my life if I knew she could battle at all."

"Hey!" The woman chirped, looking at the champion offended, she pouted for a couple of minutes, before going back to her apparently very usual happy demeanor. "The name's Bella Cheveu. It is nice to meet you…"

"Ah…"

"Charletta," Both turned to the champion, gazes a mixture of confusion and suspicion as the woman gave her typical disconcerting smile to dissuade any doubt. "Aisling Charletta, I've taken her in as a favor to a friend."

"Oh, I see." Bella chirped, a similar winning smile decorating her own expression as she suddenly whipped out a pair of scissors. "Well, since your hair is so long, and so tangled and curly, we'll cut half of it off, wash it, see if we can't detangle it, and then we'll blow dry and go from there. Does that sound alright with you?"

"Ah, yes!"

"Good, now let's begin. I promise by the time we're done, you'll feel like a new you."

* * *

A/N. So how's everyone been? I hope you all aren't too upset with the wait, but I thank you for your patience! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thanks for reading! Please leave a review, and see ya!


	13. The Beginning?

A/N. Ok, so, you guys can yell at me for this all you want, but in all honesty I think this first season is done-ish. So this may very well be the last chapter until I publish a sequel.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

* * *

**EP 13: The Beginning?**

* * *

She'd never actually paused long enough to look before, but looking into a mirror now, she'd wonder what people had thought when they'd seen her.

Jet black hair, curled and tangled beyond repair, and so long it could only ever get in the way, baggy clothes that didn't fit properly, worn combat boots and she hadn't even matched in the least, just thrown on what looked comfortable and functional enough to travel in.

Had they seen a child way in over their head? A little girl farther from home than she probably should be? Or did they simply not care?

What had they seen?

And what had her mother seen?

She could see now though, staring into the reflective surface, head tilted to the side and eyes looking so curiously at her own so foreign reflection, why her mother had been so persistent in trying to make her act like what she considered to be a lady. Why she'd tried so desperately to change her.

She was definitely her father's daughter.

Painfully so, and without a doubt, she couldn't place a part of her physical appearance that could be traced directly to her mother, or even someone from her side of the family. No, it was all her father's side. From ruffled, tangled head, to stubbed, scarred toe, every little bit had been molded from something that was in no way her mother or anyone else.

Even her face wasn't her mother's, but her aunt's on her father's side, a woman so tiny and delicate looking, there were apparently people around who still thought she sixteen years old when she was actually thirty-three.

But even all of that had to change.

So she'd said goodbye to long hair, allowed the stylist to do as she pleased. Took the rough looking renegade from Pallet and turned her into something that didn't look like something strange crawling out of the forest.

There'd been no helping those curls she'd gotten from her father, and she'd refused to wear contacts of any kind, but by the end of it, she'd almost been unable to recognize herself in the mirror.

She now had a neat little curled bob with three locks taken and died colors that represented the pokémon she'd started her journey with; yellow for Sparks, red for Sid, she'd had no clue what was up with the pink and blue, but it was supposed to represent Bow. She'd asked how that made any kind of sense, because last she'd checked an eevee wasn't pink and blue, but Diantha and the stylist had simply shared a knowing smile as their gazes drifted to the little ball of fur in question, who'd been let out of her pokéball alongside Sid so that Bella could get a good look at them all.

And just so she wouldn't be as miserable, Bella had called in a friend of hers to style her new furfrou's fur, because that was a thing apparently that people did in Kalos. And after a lot of debate, they'd settled on something the gentleman in question had termed a "Kabuki Trim".

Once everyone had been squared away, Diantha had taken them shopping.

* * *

Fuck shopping.

She didn't care if it would be productive in the end or bolster her self-esteem as a growing young girl or whatever. Screw everything the over-exuberant sales associate was insisting as she cluelessly dragged a now rather pissed thirteen year old and a far too amused champion through the aisles. This had to be the most asinine thing she'd ever done in her entire life.

Fuck shopping.

And fuck Diantha too, because this was entirely her fault and she would shamelessly blame the woman for this torture for years to come, she swore.

"Don't look so angry, you'll frighten the poor woman."

"I hate you… so… much right now…"

"Oh nonsense, I took you to get your hair cut, and even paid for it!" At the mention of her new "style", for lack of a better word, she ran her fingers through the now short locks. Now reaching just short of her shoulder, she'd found it to be far lighter than when it'd been so ridiculously long one couldn't help but roll their eyes at the sight.

_She _had rolled her eyes every morning trying to tame it to some degree.

"And I thank you for that, but I still hate you for this…"

"Just humor me, please?"

"…"

"Please?"

"Fine…"

"Oh, you'll absolutely love this skirt!"

"…" '_What the fuck… is that mass of frills?!'_

* * *

A/N. Horrendously short chapter, I know, I'm sorry! But you'll get more I promise! Don't kill me! You won't get a sequel! *hides behind a very thick wall*

Please leave a review and see ya!


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